Chronicles of Darkness Part II: Against All Odds
by bigadiggityd
Summary: Sora and Roxas are trapped in the Realm of Darkness and are trying to find their way back home; but their journey is far from easy. Kairi and Riku are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, which brings its own problems. CH 14 is up. PLZ R
1. Into the Abyss

**Chronicles of Darkness**

**Part II: Against All Odds**

_Well after a while, I feel that I have gotten a bit of the writing bug back. I was planning to write this story at some point during the fall, but due to school, and a lack of interest (blame football) I never got started on this. I actually did have a bit written, only to watch it get deleted (D'oh!) but I am back now, and while I can't promise that I will update as often as I did in the summer, I do plan on putting out a few new chapters a month hopefully. I would like to be done with this by say May, but we shall see!_

_Anyways for those of you who are familiar with my work, I would like to thank you for all the positive comments for my first story, and I am happy to see you all back here for part 2! To all the newbies that are going to read this for the first time, I would like to say welcome! I would also advise that you read my first piece: Fugitive Hearts, so that you have an idea of what's going on in this one. I will try and _

_Now some of you remember the original ending to Fugitive Hearts, which is now no longer there. I decided to take it out, and change it. Of course it too got deleted, so now I have to make a new one, but rest assured it will be finished, and hopefully better than the first one. _

_This story begins where the other one leaves off. Sora has sacrificed himself to save the worlds, and is now stranded in the Realm of Darkness with Roxas. Meanwhile; Kairi and Riku are in the world of light trying to get a hold of their lives now with Sora no longer there. I have included a small recap of the final chapter of Fugitive Hearts, sort of a setup to this new story._

_I hope you all enjoy this story!_

**Chapter 1: Into the Abyss **

(Note for returning readers: You will see some parts from the last chapter of fugitive hearts in this first chapter, this is done merely to show an order of where these things are taken place, both in the light world and the dark realm. Everything that is in Italics will be parts from the first story.)

_(Fugitive Hearts Flashback)_

"_You brought this all on yourself…Ankoku!" Sora stated as he continued to stalk the fleeing Ankoku. _

"_Yes, you've had a bad life and I sympathize, but destroying the rest of the worlds out of revenge is not the answer. What you are doing is sick and disgusting, and you will pay for it!" Sora said. _

_Ankoku continued to run from Sora, eventually making his way down to the main floor of the castle. He rushed through another door, and into a large room. Sora followed him in, but didn't see Ankoku. He looked around the dimly lit room, but didn't see his adversary. He floated into the room, and saw a few chairs lined up on the walls, and a large chandelier hanging from the center of the room. He walked towards the center of the room and noticed a large object on the opposing wall. It was a large marble statue, of the symbol that he had seen on the door of the castle, and on the back of Ankoku's cloak. Sora eyed the statue with curiosity. There was a weird marking in the middle of the statue. As he looked closer at the statue, he made out the symbol as a smaller version of a keyhole. One of his Keyblades began to react to the small hole, and Sora realized that this was the seal that King Mickey was talking about. _

"_Don't even think about it!" _

_Sora's snapped around and saw Ankoku rushing up towards him, with a new blade drawn. Sora sidestepped him and backhanded him in the back of his head with the hilt of the Keyblade. Ankoku stumbled forward, and Sora was quick to follow up the attack, allowing the Keyblades to do what they wanted. Ankoku tried to fend off the attack, but the combination of two Keyblades was too much for Ankoku and he quickly fell to the ground, wounded from the Keyblades. Sora called off the blades and looked down at the injured Ankoku. Ankoku looked up at Sora, through pained eyes. _

"_So now you're going to finish me off?" Ankoku asked, a pool of blood and black ooze forming around his body. _

"_No…I'm not going to kill you." Sora responded. _

_Ankoku looked up at him confused. _

"_Am…I free to leave then?" He asked. _

"_No…you still must atone for your actions." Sora said, and turned back towards the statue, and the small keyhole began to glow. _

_Ankoku watched with great fear as Sora walked towards the keyhole and grabbed one of the floating Keyblades._

"_What are you doing?!" Ankoku cried out. _

_Sora did not take his eyes off the keyhole. _

"_I'm going to seal this place forever…this way…the worlds can return to normal!" Sora said. _

_Ankoku eyes grew wide._

"_But…I'll be trapped forever! You will be too!" Ankoku said._

_Sora stopped and turned towards him. _

"_I'm aware of this." He said, turning back around to the keyhole._

_Ankoku looked around desperately, his mind racing to see what he could do or say to stop Sora from going through with this. _

"_What about your friends? What about the princess?" Ankoku said._

_Sora stopped again, and pondered it. Ankoku seemed to have a glimmer of hope, that maybe he had been able to stop Sora from doing this. Sora turned to him, and smiled. With that smile Ankoku's hope was washed away. _

"_Those two things that you just mentioned is the sole reason why I am doing this…so that they will be safe." Sora said. _

_He then turned, and began to raise his Keyblade towards the keyhole. Ankoku quickly lurched to his feet and summoned another sword. He used all his remaining energy to rush towards Sora, with his blade raised. _

"_I will not go out this way!!!" He roared as he raced towards Sora. _

_Sora turned to see Ankoku barreling down upon him, and quickly turned and allowed his Keyblades to do what they could do. Ankoku raised the blade high above his head exposing his midsection to the Keyblades, which were quick to take full advantage of that fact, as in quick fashion they took 3 swipes at his stomach, cutting deep gashes into the midsection of Ankoku. Ankoku stopped and staggered around. He looked down at his stomach, and fell to his knees. His mouth hung open and his lower lip quivered as he saw his silver cloak turn blackish red in the stomach area. He opened his cloak and looked at the large gashes in his stomach. The blood was mixing with black ooze and draining out of his body at an alarming rate. He looked up at Sora, who seemed disappointed with the results. Ankoku looked back down at his stomach, and then up at Sora again. His skin turned very white and his eyes rolled up in the back of his head. His body then fell face first to the ground, and didn't move. Sora gazed down at the fallen Ankoku and shook his head. He hadn't intended to kill him, but in the act of self-defense it had happened. He quickly exited out of his new form, back into his normal clothes. Sora then turned his gaze away from the tragic figure and turned back towards the statue and the task at hand. The symbol continued to glow as he approached it. _

"_Well…I guess this is it…" Roxas sighed from inside Sora. _

_Sora smiled a bit. _

"_Don't worry Roxas…we'll find our way back to Kairi and Naminé…I promise." Sora stated. _

"_I trust ya Sora…go ahead and do what you gotta do." Roxas said. _

_Sora nodded, and held his Keyblade up. He looked at the Oblivion Keyblade…but then lowered it. _

"_What are you doing Sora?" Roxas asked from inside him. _

"_Just making a quick change." He said as he rummaged around in his pocket. _

_He pulled out the Oathkeeper Keychain, and quickly attached it to his Keyblade. _

"_This will always remind me of the promises that I make, and this one I intend to keep." He said, as he put the Oblivion Keyblade back into his pocket._

_He raised the blade up back towards the Keyhole. _

"_I will return to you Kairi…I promise…" He said as he closed his eyes and felt the energy run through him and out his blade, towards the keyhole. _

_He saw the light hit the Keyhole, and then felt himself being pulled in by suction, and everything went dark. From the outside of the castle, it looked as if the castle was being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner, until there was no trace of it left, and the world just seemed to be a barren wasteland, with no sign of life at all._

Sora awoke lying facedown on the ground. Using his hands to lift himself up he took in his surroundings. It was a dark and dreary place, not unlike the Forbidden World. There were no people, no trees, and no sign of life at all. The only thing that was there was the dark ground, illuminated by the pale, yellow, moon. He stood up and brushed off his clothes, and looked up at the moon. He turned his attention away from the full moon, and brushed some of the dust out of his spiky brown hair.

"Nice of you to ask if I'm okay!" A voice grumbled from behind.

Sora turned around to see the ghostly image of a young man around his age, with spiky blond hair. He smiled at the figure.

"Haha, sorry bout that Roxas…" Sora said with a hint of apology.

"Yeah whatever…so this is the place?" Sora's nobody asked.

"Guess so…" Sora responded.

Roxas looked around at the desolate place they now would call their home. He thought back to what they had left in Destiny Island, and realized that he was a far cry from his island home. He sighed and then turned back towards Sora.

"So how do we get home?" He asked.

"Well…I'm not really sure…I guess we can try and find out some way of getting back home…but probably not here so I suggest we start walking." Sora said as he started walking in the direction of the moon.

Roxas watched him walk off, sighed again, and then followed him. The duo continued to walk for what seemed like hours, but found nothing in the barren wasteland.

"Man this sucks!" Roxas stated as the duo continued to trudge along the landscape.

"I know…but we aren't going to find anything out by just sitting here…we have to keep moving!" Sora said with conviction.

"Sides you aren't even walking!" Sora pointed out.

"Yeah but I'm bored!" Roxas said.

Sora rolled his eyes and they continued to walk along for a couple more hours before they came across a small mountain range. They approached it, and despite protest from Roxas, Sora began to climb and slowly made his way up the mountain.

"This is taking way to long!" Roxas complained again.

Sora meanwhile kept trucking on, although he was beginning to labor a bit, and Roxas was also beginning to get on his nerves. He made it to the top of the small mountain, only to see to a barren valley, surrounded by even more hills. Roxas groaned at this sight, while Sora stopped for a quick breather.

"This is getting ridiculous!! Is there anything here?" Roxas asked again.

Sora turned back and glared at Roxas. Roxas was too busy looking around for any thing that was different and thus he didn't see the death stare of Sora. Sora turned back around and continued to walk. Roxas was looking around at the surroundings and didn't see that Sora was halfway to the valley. He realized this and raced to catch up to Sora.

"Wait up!" Roxas said as he chased after his friend.

They made their way into the valley, and proceeded to climb to the top of another small mountain. When they reached to the top Sora dropped to his knees, gasping for air. Roxas looked around, not expecting to find anything different than the previous hill, but was stunned when he looked down into this valley and saw a vast amount of trees that stretched far off into the horizon.

"Sora! Look!" Roxas cried out.

Sora glanced up after sucking in a gasp of air, and nearly choked when he saw the forest. He scrambled to his feet, and quickly sped down the mountain and into the valley where the forest awaited. As they drew closer they saw that the trees were quite different than anything that they had seen before. They possessed black bark, and silver leaves, that shimmered in the faint glow of the yellow moon. They continued deeper into the forest, and it got to the point that the trees got so thick that they could no longer see the moon. Despite the moon being gone, the illumination of the silver leaves provided a dazzling, but almost eerie glow to their surroundings. They continued to trek through the forest, delving further into the mysterious woods. A low fog began to roll in as well, which made both Roxas and Sora even more uneasy. Still they continued on pushing deeper and deeper into the woods. Roxas was starting to get bored again, and began looking around at his surroundings.

"With a little sunshine, and some added color this place wouldn't be that bad…" He thought to himself as he glanced up at one of the trees.

He was about to turn back towards Sora, when he thought he saw something in the tree. He looked back again, and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a pair of yellow eyes staring back at him.

"Uhhhhh….Sora….?" Roxas said trying to draw Sora's attention.

"Not now Roxas!" Sora said, ignoring his friend.

Roxas watched as more pairs of yellow eyes popped up in the various trees.

"Soooorrrraaaaa…." Roxas said to get his attention again.

"I said for you to leave me alone!" Sora snapped back, thinking that his friend was just going to start complaining again.

"Soooraaa I think you need to see this…" Roxas said again.

Sora finally stopped and whirled around.

"WHAT! WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT!?" Sora yelled at Roxas.

Roxas's response was to merely point up at the now fifty pairs of yellow eyes that had them surrounded. Sora looked around as numerous shadow heartless morphed down to the ground and took their true shape. Then they began to move in one slow circular mass towards to two.

"Well shit…" Sora said, drawing his Oathkeeper blade.

He immediately sprung into action slashing and cutting his way through the heartless army. He attacked his foes with such precision and quickness that he was able to cut through many of the heartless. However, while he was making tremendous gashes in their ranks, more and more heartless were being drawn to the area. They were appearing at a greater frequency then Sora could eliminate them. Sora fought valiantly but the combination of walking for so many hours, and the constant influx of new heartless became too much for him, and he soon was on the defensive. A constant barrage of slashes was difficult for him to defend against, and eventually they swarmed upon him. Sora was lost under a mass of heartless, and Roxas was powerless to do anything about it. Sora tried to fight out of it, but his blade was knocked away from his hand. He tried to bring it back to him, but he was unable to do so. Heartless swarmed over him, and clawed him into submission. Sora began to grow weak and his vision began to fade. Roxas's continued pleas for Sora to fight seemed to slowly fade away, until his vision completely faded and the darkness enveloped him.

_Back in Disney Castle: _

_Everyone was sitting in the medical wing. Kairi had come out of the bath and felt incredibly refreshed. The mood in the room though, had taken a drastic turn for the worse since King Mickey had informed everyone what exactly Sora's mission had entailed. Riku was taking it pretty hard, as the last few days had not been very kind to him. Kairi was unhappy, but she at least had gotten to speak to Sora, before…_

_Suddenly, she felt something, something important leaving her. She lowered her head, and realized that Sora had successfully completed his mission. The other members of the room noticed that she had bowed her head, and they all turned to her, concerned. Kairi looked up at all the faces, and gave a sad smile. Without any words said, everyone was able to figure out what this meant. Daisy started to sob, and was comforted by an equally sad Donald. Mickey's eyes and ears both drooped, as Minnie hugged him. Olette buried her face into the shoulder of Hayner and Pence dropped down into a seated position. Riku looked to the ground and silently walked out of the room. It was a somber moment for all of them. The battle had been won and the worlds had been saved, but the cost of victory was far greater than anyone had been willing to pay._

Sora jolted awake with sweat down his face. Something was wrong as he couldn't see anything at all. He tried to get up but stumbled and fell on his face. He felt a pair of hands grab him, and he tried to fight the person off. He pulled away from the grip, but fell again. He called his Keyblade, and felt the blade appear in his hand. He tried swinging blindly, flailing away but hitting nothing. He heard a familiar voice sound out.

"Sora! Settle down!" Roxas called out to him.

Sora lowered his hands, and started to calm down. He felt another pair of hands grab him, and started to tense up again.

"Take a breather son, and wait for your vision to come back." A low gruff voice said.

Sora loosened up, returned the blade, and allowed the pair of hands to lead him. He sat back down, and waited as his vision slowly returned to him. When it did he looked up at the two figures who were watching him. One he recognized as Roxas, but the other was unfamiliar to him. It was an older man who looked to be in his 60's, but was in fantastic condition for his age. He had a long beard, and he had a chiseled face. He wore older style of clothes, ones that Sora had never seen before. He had a small scar that formed the letter X on his chin. His eyes were a dark green, and he smiled at Sora.

"I must say it's been awhile since someone other than myself has been to this horrible place." The man said.

Sora continued to look around at the small bare hut; He was sitting on a hard, wooden, bench, and looked at the old man.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"You're in my hut; outside of the forest…you're lucky that I found you two, or else those things would have finished you two off." The man said.

"Those things are called heartless; they represent the darkness in everyone's hearts." Roxas chimed in.

"Ah so they have a name… these heartless as you call them have only been here for a week or two; fortunately my blade has been able to turn the foul beasts back." The man responded.

"That was an amazing trick you did Sora! I thought you were a goner for sure!" Roxas added.

Sora looked puzzled at Roxas.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.

"When I came and fought off most of those heartless that were on top of you, we saw that you had a white aura around you, and other than a few scratches on your chest and face that we bandaged up…" The man began.

Sora looked down and for the first time realized that he was shirtless. A bandage covered his torso.

"I don't know how to make an aura like that…I was knocked out…" Sora said in shock.

Roxas merely looked at him, and they both tried to figure out what had happened. The old man looked at them in concentration, and spoke again.

"We were attacked again, but I was able to fend them off long enough to get out of the forest and to safety, for some reason they like to stay in the forest, as very rarely have I seen one outside of it…" the man explained.

"Well…thanks for saving our butts…" Sora said.

"Don't mention it…it's nice to have some company finally...it's been a few centuries since I've seen another person." The man said.

Roxas and Sora both stared in awe.

"W…what did you say?" Roxas stuttered.

Sora stared at the old man, before noticing something behind the man's left shoulder. He saw what appeared to be a Keyblade, sitting in the corner of the room. The old man turned to see what he was looking at and then turned back to Sora. Sora turned and locked eyes with the old man.

"Who are you?" Sora asked calmly.

The old man looked back at Sora with calm eyes.

"My name is Yamato…and I'm the one who created the portal to this plane of existence." He stated.

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. The Realm of Darkness

_So I realized that I never did this in the first chapter, but the following characters with the exception of Ankoku, and Yamato; are all owned by Square-Enix and Disney. _

_This is chapter 2, and while it is smaller it sets up the remaining chapters. This isn't going to be too long of a story, but it will be important for the big story that I have planned for sometime this summer. _

_Anyways this will bring us up to speed with the ending of Fugitive Hearts and now we can get into the rest of the story!_

_Enjoy!_

_Oh and thanks for the reviews from the old readers good to hear from you guys again! _

**Chapter 2: The Realm of Darkness**

"How…How is that possible?" Roxas stuttered.

"You don't look a day over 60!" Sora chimed in.

Yamato let out a low laugh.

"Thank you both, I try to keep in shape." He said with a sly smile.

He looked at Sora and Roxas, who were in too much shock to really catch the joke.

"I'm going to guess here and say that you two have no idea what you got yourselves into." Yamato said.

Two blank stares were his response.

"You locked up the void, and sent the castle back here; in essence you sacrificed yourself for the ones that you love, and for the worlds themselves." He said.

Sora slowly broke away from his trance.

"Yeah that's right…it was my job as the Keyblade Master." Sora said, standing up for his decision.

Yamato nodded approvingly.

"Such character in a man so young, it is obvious as to why you were selected to wield the Keyblade." He said.

"While you did a great deed, you have doomed yourself for all eternity." Yamato said.

"I like to call this plane the Realm of Darkness; it is a desolate place, where no light has shine forth in the fifty years that I have been here. The place stays the same, no matter what time of year it should be." He began.

"But I thought you said you have been here for centuries?" Roxas chimed in.

"I will get to that." Yamato said, before continuing with his explanation.

"This realm acts as a mirror of sorts for the rest of the worlds. Where you are now is the mirror version of the Forbidden World, there are mirror worlds all around the realm, as well as various access points that connect them all." Yamato explained.

"Cool! Maybe we can find a way out of here from one of the other areas!" Roxas said cheerfully.

Yamato shook his head.

"No…you won't…" He said sadly.

Roxas and Sora looked at him with stunned looks.

"When I said that you sacrificed yourself to come here…I mean that you literally threw your life away…you can't ever go back home." Yamato stated.

Roxas was speechless, while Sora looked down at the floor.

"You're sure?" Roxas asked, praying that he had heard wrong.

"I've used the fifty years that I have been stuck in this wretched place to search for a way out, but I have been unable to locate one, and I have searched every plane that I was able to find." Yamato explained.

Sora and Roxas let that sink in.

"No…that can't be…" Roxas muttered.

"Naminé…" He said closing his eyes.

Sora looked up at Yamato.

"Why did you give up? I mean…I know your story, how you were married…why not still try…" Sora asked.

Yamato turned away.

"Because that was centuries ago…" Yamato stated.

"Okay stop…what is the deal? Fifty years…hundreds of years…which is it!?" Sora snapped.

Yamato turned back to him.

"Both…you see…while here in the Realm of Darkness only fifty years has passed…out in the real world…hundreds of years have passed. Time moves at a different speed here." Yamato explained.

Sora and Roxas both looked at him dumbfounded.

"You mean…the longer we stay here the more time passes in the real world?" Roxas said, scarcely believing what he just said.

"That's correct…or at least my best guess based on how long I've been here, and how you told me that I did my deed centuries ago." Yamato said.

Sora looked down at the ground, trying to work out how much time he could possibly have. He looked back up at Yamato. Yamato caught his gaze and was surprised by the determination that he saw in Sora's eyes.

"How many areas have you searched?" Sora asked him.

"It was difficult travel; I was only able to find a few access points…" Yamato admitted.

"Where is the one for here?" Sora said, not taking his eyes off of Yamato.

Yamato looked at him with a fair amount of surprise.

"It's on the other side of the woods…why?" Yamato said.

Sora stood up and called forth his Oathkeeper blade. Yamato was taken aback by the young Keyblade Master's appearance. He reminded him in many ways of how he used to be. Sora stared down at him.

"Because I made a promise to someone very special, and I really don't feel like waiting until she's sixty until I can see her again!" He exclaimed.

Roxas beamed at this, and Yamato was stunned. It had been so long since he had seen some sort of youthful vigor. The years had not been kind to him, and some of his passion and zest had been destroyed once he realized that he had lost his faithful wife. He looked at Sora closely.

"You wish to take this journey…which will be one of the most arduous quests that you have ever done, not to mention now that it seems those heartless are even more plentiful…even knowing that there is a 99.999999999999 chance that you will not make it home?" He asked.

"Let's say this…I will make it back home…or I am going to die trying!" Sora said firmly.

Yamato pondered this and then nodded. He stood up and grabbed his Keyblade. He then turned to Sora and Roxas.

"Let's go then!" He said as he made his way out the door.

Sora looked around and grabbed his undershirt and quickly threw it on. He then raced outside with Roxas close behind. Rather than risk facing off with the heartless that resided in the forest, they opted to go around the forest to limit their interaction with the beasts. A few got in their way but Sora was able to dispatch them with relative ease, though he did notice that they were tougher than their real world counterparts. They came to a small cliff and a small green glowing orb, similar to the one that Sora had used in the End of all Worlds when he fought Ansem's heartless.

"These are your access points…they will take you to the different worlds in the Realm of Darkness." Yamato explained.

He handed Sora and Roxas some containers.

"There isn't much clean water available in this realm, so if you find it make sure you stop for it. As far as food goes, the trees will contain fruit, its okay to eat them." Yamato continued.

He looked at both Sora and Roxas.

"You also need to watch out; this place will play tricks on you. Remember: not everything you see in the darkness is real." Yamato said as well.

Sora nodded, and started to walk towards the access point, but Yamato for some reason stayed behind.

"Good luck you two." Yamato said.

Roxas and Sora stopped and looked at him.

"Aren't you coming?" Roxas asked.

Yamato shook his head.

"No I'm not going with you." Yamato stated.

Sora and Roxas looked dumbfounded at him.

"You want to stay here?" Sora asked.

"No I don't…but I can't go back…there is nothing awaiting me in the real world." Yamato responded.

"Yes, but you could be a valuable asset to the Castle of Disney! You're a Keyblade Master!" Sora exclaimed.

"Most of all you could get out of this place!" Roxas added.

Yamato sat there and thought about this for a second. There was something about Sora that made him believe that this kid might just be able to pull it off. He was getting on in years, and while he had missed his wife so much, he also missed the real world, and the simple pleasures in life.

"It's been so long since I've seen the sun…or the seasons change…but it was over four hundred years since I've been home…everything will be so different…" Yamato thought to himself.

He thought about it more and more and tried to weight out his options. He looked up at the two of them and cracked a smile.

"Well it would be nice to see the light of day once again…and I guess you boys do need an adult to look out for you." Yamato said.

He walked towards the access point.

"Let's go boys!" Yamato said as he walked through the access point.

Sora looked at Roxas, who smiled back at him. Sora rolled his eyes.

"Great; another Auron…just what we need." Sora said, as he followed Yamato into the access point.

Roxas laughed and followed the two in.

_Destiny Island Two weeks later: _

_The fog had for the most part disappeared, and the worlds were slowly getting back to their normal states. Major rebuilding projects were taking place in the various worlds, and arrangements were being made for another World's Council that King Mickey was currently pushing for. However, all that was secondary today. Many people had been able to make it to Destiny Island for this important ceremony. The King and Queen were there, as were Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Max. Hayner, Pence, and Olette had also been able to make the trip, as had Leon, Aerith, Cloud, Yuffie, and Cid. Other people from various worlds were there including Aladdin and Jasmine, Prince Adam and Belle, and others. Many people from Destiny City had made their way out to pay their respects also. Kairi and Riku were prominent in the center, along with Sora's parents. The waves crashed on the sandy beach, as a man in cloth came up to a large object, and smiled at all the people that were sitting on the beach. _

"_Thank you all for coming…we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of a true hero…Sora Hakiri…" The man began. _

_The service continued for an hour, and there were a lot of tears, especially during the unveiling of a monument dedicated to Sora's memory. Once the service ended, many stayed to pay their respects, but the ones who stayed the longest were Kairi and Riku. Once everyone was gone, the two stayed there for a long time afterwards. Neither said anything, until finally Riku broke the silence. _

"_I can't believe he's gone." Riku muttered. _

_Kairi nodded. _

"_It will take some time to get used to, but we should remember the good times we had with him." She stated. _

_Riku looked at her with a puzzled look. _

"_You know you're taking this pretty well…" Riku said. _

_Kairi smiled. _

"_I was able to talk to him…through my mind…and he made a promise to me, as I did to him." Kairi said. _

_Riku looked at her with curiosity, but decided that it wasn't worth pressing the issue. He looked at the setting sun, and turned to Kairi. _

"_I'm going to head home…are you coming?" He asked. _

_Kairi shook her head. _

"_No, but I'll see you later." She said. _

_Riku nodded and turned around and walked back towards the bridge. Kairi watched him leave and turned back to the small monument. She looked up into the sky and smiled. _

"_I made a promise to you Sora Hakiri…and I intend to keep it!" She said, as she watched the first stars begin to come out. _

_Kairi stayed for a bit longer, before turning around and heading back towards the mainland. _

**End of Chapter 2**

_Okay! Well I head back to school tomorrow so I will hopefully be able to get chapter 3 up by the end of next week. The following weekend I will have laser eye surgery, so I probably won't get around to it until the following week._

_Later guys!_


	3. Return to Normalcy

_Whew! This was a long chapter that literally took my whole week! I'm proud of it though as I got a lot of things that I can use and build off of not only for this story but for the next one as well. I'm experimenting with music in my stories, and I really liked the way that this one came out. There will be a few more songs in this story more than likely. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up by next week, but I get laser surgery on Friday so we shall see._

_Square and Disney own all these characters except Yamato and Ankoku, and the new ones in this chapter. _

_Time after Time is owned by either Cyndi Lauper or Epic Records, this version was performed by Quiet Drive_

_Enjoy!!!_

**Chapter 3: Return to Normalcy **

BRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!

Kairi's eyes fluttered open and she stared at the big red numbers that glared back at her. She groaned and placed her hand on the alarm off switch, effectively ending its annoying beeping. She sat up and shook the cobwebs out of her head, her auburn hair stuck out awkwardly. Suddenly a golden-haired young woman came out of Kairi's body and stood up alongside Kairi's bed. Kairi looked up at her nobody, and gave a half smile. Naminé returned the smile and then brushed her hair to the side. Naminé was wearing her favorite white sundress, which had now become her sleepwear.

"First day back…" Naminé said softly.

Kairi nodded.

"Have you thought about what it's going to be like?" Naminé asked.

Kairi shook her head indicating yes, and looked down into her lap. She realized that this would be the first time that she would have to go to school without Sora. Naminé watched Kairi, and quickly clapped her hands, drawing Kairi back into reality.

"You need to go get a shower; I'll go ahead and let your mom know that you're ready for breakfast." Naminé said. When Kairi didn't stir, she used a more forceful tone.

"Now!"

Kairi slowly got to her feet and walked into the bathroom. Naminé watched her slowly trudge into the bathroom and let out a small sigh. She knew that today would be tough without Sora, and Naminé wanted to make sure that this day went as smoothly as possible for her.

"No matter how I feel…I have to make sure that I always put on a bright face for her…" She said to herself. She floated over to the window and stared out at their island. The sun was just rising up over the island as sea gulls flew lazy circles in the sky.

"Just hurry back soon guys…"

Naminé waited until she heard the shower turn on before she headed downstairs. Naminé found Kairi's mother quietly humming along as she was busy whipping up some breakfast for Kairi. In many ways she looked like a cross between Naminé and Kairi in the facial region. She possessed dirty blonde hair, but there was a determined and worn look on her face, no doubt from having the burden of a child thrust upon her. Her age was beginning to show as well. She looked up from her work and wiped the sweat from her brow. She glanced over and saw Naminé standing in the doorway.

"Good morning dear." She said, smiling.

"Good Morning Mrs. Uchida!" Naminé replied cheerfully.

Kairi's mom rolled her eyes at this. "I told you…" she started; "You can call me mom…or at least Anne…"

"Okay Mrs…I mean…Anne…I will try and do that!" Naminé said with a smile and floated over to the family room where the television had the morning news on.

Anne laughed at this and went back to making breakfast. For some reason Naminé could not say mom to her, as if it didn't seem right. Granted Kairi wasn't her daughter either, but Kairi had taken her last name and had become a daughter to her. Kairi had no qualms about calling her mom, but although she had accepted Naminé as a second daughter, she was still waiting for the reciprocation. She heard the sound of running water coming down through the pipes.

"I take it she's in the shower?" She shouted from the kitchen. Naminé's equally loud "Yeah!" was her response.

Kairi's mom finished up in the kitchen and quickly set the table. She walked over to the staircase and yelled for Kairi to hurry on down. After that she walked over and joined Naminé in the family room.

"How is she?" Anne asked.

Naminé sighed. "Not as well as you might think…she misses him a lot…and I think she's really regretting all those chances that they had to…" Naminé started before she quickly stopped before she revealed too much.

Kairi's mom noticed this and gave a reassuring smile. "It's alright dear; you don't have to tell me something that you don't want to…I'm pretty sure that I got the idea…"

The sounds of someone slowly walking down the stairs interrupted their conversation. Anne and Naminé turned around to see Kairi walking into the kitchen with her school uniform on. Her hair had not completely dried yet, and was dripping a little. She gave a meek smile, which was met with two big smiles.

"Eat your breakfast sweetheart…you need to be fully fed for your first day back!" Anne said softly.

Kairi walked over and sat down in front of a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. She ate her breakfast quietly, and when she was done, took her plate over to the sink. Anne came over and gave her a kiss on her forehead, and Kairi was able to force a smile for her mom. She grabbed her bag and her purse and walked out the front door. Anne looked at Naminé and smiled. Naminé smiled back and floated out the door after Kairi. Anne watched from the doorway as they walked up to a young man in dark grey slacks, and a school uniform top. The long silver hair told her that it was their friend Riku. She watched them trudge off, but noticed that there was a lack of emotion in the way they walked, with the exception of Naminé. She sighed.

"He was something else that was for sure…" She said to herself.

The trio was silent for the most part as they walked up towards the school house. Naminé tried to break the silence with talk of their first day, but it wasn't really sinking in to either one of them. They had been through a rough few months in which Kairi was incapacitated; Riku was manipulated into hunting down his best friend, and perhaps even worse in the fact one of his darkest moments was brought back in full force, when Selene was brought back into his memory banks. There were still many unanswered questions. Maleficent was weakened, but it was still unknown as to whether or not she was dead. King Mickey had sent Riku on a couple solo missions but nothing turned up. They were too busy trying to restore order to the rest of the worlds, and making sure that something like that would never happen again. The coup de grace however, was the loss of their best friend Sora. That was more than either one of them could fully stomach. Even though Kairi had told people of the promise that Sora had made; no one save Kairi, Naminé, and Riku seemed to really believe them. All these things were weighing on their mind along with the fact that they now had school to worry about as well. Luckily for them the Destiny Island school district went year round, so they only missed a few months. Thankfully, the school had been quite lenient with Kairi and Riku due to the events of the past few months. Rather than having them make up all of their work from the previous months they instead were allowed to start fresh with a clean slate. This made no difference for Kairi as she had straight A's, but Riku was a different story, this gave him a chance to redeem himself.

"We're here!" Naminé said; effectively ending their thought process.

The old school was just how they remembered it. In keeping up with the scenery the school had adopted an island feel to it. Its sand-colored walls seemed warm and inviting. Up on the roof there was a steeple with a bell that was ringing, signifying that it was time for everyone to get to class. Riku and Kairi each took a deep breath and walked up the dirt path to the school. Just when they were about to reach the steps, Kairi was struck in the back of the head by something hard. Tears welled in her eyes and she fell to the ground clutching the back of her head. Riku and Naminé bent down to help her back up and they turned around to find a group of people laughing at them. Kairi looked out and saw three people: two girls and a guy. The girls were twins, both with black hair, which was cut in the same way; short and spiky. Each one though had a pair of pig tails in the back as well. They both had brown eyes, and the only real difference between the two was that they had their hair dyed a different color; one green and the other red. The guy was tall, about the same height as Riku, but had a yellow Mohawk. His green eyes flashed as he saw the anger on Riku's face. His right sleeve was rolled up and there was a skull tattoo on his bicep. They were all very unkempt in their appearance with multiple body piercing in their noses and lips. They all sneered at the trio, most notably Kairi and Riku.

"Well…well…well!" The green haired twin sneered. "Look who's finally come back to school!"

The trio remained stoic. Even Kairi had regained her balance and was standing up in a firm stance. They knew these people; they were Destiny Island's resident thugs. The twins were the red-head Rei and the green-haired Ami, and the guy was Mako; the leader of this band of punks. They had bullied Kairi and Sora for a long time, although as Sora grew they left him alone for the most part. They never messed with Riku, at least not directly. They were notorious for picking on a really good friend of his; named Selene. Mako snickered for a bit as he sized up Riku.

"So why is it that you two are so damn special that you get to skip school whenever you want to?" Ami demanded to know.

"Shut up!" Riku growled. He was about to do something but Kairi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go Riku…it's not worth it…" Kairi said as they turned to walk away.

The three were not to be deterred and waited to get the final shot when Riku and Kairi were just about inside the school but still within earshot.

"It's too bad that you two couldn't go off and get wasted like that spike-haired idiot Sora!" Mako called out.

Riku raced back out and pounced on Mako. He let his left and right hands do all the talking. Rei and Ami tried to get him off but he shoved them away. Kairi was finally able to pry him off the now bleeding Mako. Mako's face was a crimson mess as his nose was destroyed. The twins rushed to their leader's side.

"You bastard! You'll all pay for this!!" They screamed after the trio; who ran into the school.

"That son of a bitch!" Riku said slamming his fist into a locker.

"Relax Riku!" Naminé said trying to calm her friend down.

Riku shrugged her off, and then stormed off to class as the second bell rang. Naminé and Kairi watched him go, and then quickly got to class.

_Back in the Realm of Darkness:_

The intrepid adventurers emerged from the access point into a familiar site for both Sora and Roxas. They had landed in the middle of a large stone bridge, and off in the distance they saw the outline of a large castle.

"This is Prince Adam's place!" Roxas blurted out, as he looked at the mammoth structure that seemed almost intimidating against the yellow moon.

Sora walked to the side of the bridge and looked out into the distance. The silver trees were here as well, and the place was barren. It was just as Yamato had said earlier; this place never changed. He felt a brush against his back and turned to find Yamato behind him, a look of urgency on his face.

"We must move quickly Sora; we don't know what foul beasts could lurk in this dreary place." He warned.

Sora nodded and walked towards the castle. They pulled up in front of the castle and walked through the large doors that led to the foyer of Prince Adam and Belle's mansion. The castle was dark, with the only light coming from the moonlight that crept in through the windows. The set up was the exact same though as far as Sora could tell; as there were knights statues that lined the various hallways. They began their search looking through both wings of the castle, and checking the former bedrooms of both Belle and Prince Adam, and the master bedroom that they now shared; all which turned up nothing. They stuck to their areas that they remembered, but didn't check the area that was added on during the two years between the fall of Organization XIII and Maleficent's plan. Roxas was beginning to grow desperate, as they left the den and were back in the foyer.

"Where do you think the access point is?" Roxas asked.

Sora shrugged his shoulders. "It could be in the ballroom." He offered.

The three walked up the steps and through the large doors that led to the large ballroom. It was dark; save for the giant windows that made up the back wall of the room. The yellow moon was positioned in the dead center of the glass, lighting up most of the room. Roxas could make out the many pillars that circled the floor. Glancing up, he spotted the enormous chandelier that sat in the center of the room. There was a small door in the gigantic window that led to the outside patio and garden of the castle. Roxas entered the room and was followed by Sora and Yamato. They worked their way to the center of the room, but were dismayed to find no access point. Sora groaned. "Where could it be?" He wondered aloud.

Almost as soon as he said that, heartless began springing up at various points in the room, catching them all off guard. Sora and Yamato immediately drew their Keyblades, and stood at the ready. This time it wasn't just shadow heartless that were attacking; fat bodies and soldier heartless were in the hordes of heartless too. Sora looked back towards the double doors that they had used to enter the room, only to find them all but inaccessible. He looked back towards the patio doors, and found that to be no better than the front of the room.

"Roxas!" Sora yelled at his nobody. Roxas turned to Sora. "We'll fight these guys off…you go and find the access point!" Sora screamed. With that said; Sora and Yamato took off and engaged the heartless that had begun filling the room. Roxas looked as they ran off and sighed. He floated past all the heartless, none who paid him any attention; and out the doors to search for the access point.

_Back on Destiny Island:_

The final bell rang, and the students piled out of the school, many of them anxious for the weekend ahead. The week had been hard for Kairi, as it was difficult to adjust back into their regular routine. Every class seemed to plod along at the same slow pace, and her mind would often drift back to Sora, before being pulled back in to reality either by the bell or by the teacher. Lunch was the only bright spot of her school day as she was able to see her friends Tidus, Riku, and Selphie. At night she had difficulty staying focused on her homework, and would try and drift off about Sora, but Naminé was right there to keep her on task. Naminé hated having to do this, but she knew that it was best for Kairi to put it as far from her mind as possible. Kairi slowly got up from her desk, slugging her backpack over her shoulder and getting her purse as well. She slowly trudged through the hallway, towards the front door of the school. She walked outside, and looked around. "That's odd…" She thought; "Where is Riku?"

Naminé popped out of Kairi's body and looked around for their silver-haired friend, but couldn't locate him. "Maybe he's just running late?" Naminé suggested.

The two of them sat and waited for a good twenty minutes, but Riku didn't show up. Kairi sighed. "I guess we should probably get going, Riku can take care of himself."

They began to walk back home, following the path that had led them to the schoolhouse earlier that morning. The walked along for a little while, as the wind whipped the trees around. It was a quiet, peaceful day, but it was beginning to grow colder as September had brought with it the changes of fall. The path was clear with not a soul in sight. Kairi however couldn't shake the feeling that someone or something was watching her. She heard the sound of an engine revving lowly. She began to walk a little quicker forcing Naminé to quicken her pace as well. She continued to walk at a brisk pace as she made her way towards a series of houses; where she could see people out in the streets. Whatever was chasing her would not be for very long, if only she could make it to the town. Suddenly; she felt something grab her. She was spun around and came face to face with the snarling face of Mako. His nose was heavily bandaged from where Riku had broken it earlier in the week. Kairi backed up from him and adopted a fighting stance. If Mako wanted a fight she could take care of herself. Mako got a sick smile on his face but said no words. Instead he looked past her, towards the town. Kairi quickly turned her head around, and was greeted with a hard punch to the face.

Kairi staggered back as her face throbbed from the blow. She could hear the laughing twins behind her, and felt something hard hit her in the stomach. Ami lowered her knee and allowed Kairi to attempt a breath. Kairi tried to breathe but could only muster a groan. Ami grabbed the back of Kairi's head. Kairi felt her face driven headfirst into the ground. The twins laughed at Kairi while Naminé watched helplessly. Mako did nothing; he merely stood there and watched the proceedings. The twins picked up Kairi and held her up. Kairi was bleeding from the forehead and had some severe swelling in her eye. Ami placed Kairi in a full nelson, while Rei took a glob of mud and rubbed it in her face. Kairi spit out the mud, as a tear trickled down her face. Rei looked at Mako, as if she was a child that was looking for approval from a parent. Mako was leaning on a motorcycle silently watching this go down. He caught Rei's gaze and gave a low grunt and a quick nod. Rei turned back to Kairi with a gleam in her eye.

"You ain't so tough without your protector around!" She sneered as she held Kairi's battered face up by her chin so she could see eye to eye.

Kairi said nothing, which only seemed to fuel Rei's fire. "Nothing to say huh? That's fine…but I bet you won't be silent when you see what we do next!" She spat out.

Rei clutched the collar of Kairi's uniform and pulled with all her might. There was a loud rip, and Kairi was left standing there in her ripped top, with her pink bra showing. Kairi struggled and tried to cover up, but Ami held her tight. Rei grinned. "I thought that would get you!" She said as she tossed the tattered rag in her hand to the ground.

Rei then looked down at Kairi's skirt, and back up into Kairi's eyes which seemed to plead with her not to go through with it. Rei didn't seem to get the message and with another rip, Kairi was now down to her panties. Rei laughed at this. She then turned to Mako, who nodded approvingly. Rei looked at Kairi, who had tears streaming down her blood soaked face. She looked down at what was left and despite Kairi's soft protests, she moved in closer.

"BACK OFF YOU ROTTEN SON OF A BITCH!!!" came a fiery roar from behind them.

The gang turned around and saw Riku charging at them, with his Keyblade drawn. Ami quickly dropped Kairi to the ground; and raced over to the motorcycles with Mako and Rei. They hopped on their motorcycles and quickly sped off, flipping Riku off as they sped off. Kairi was lying on the ground in nothing but her bra and panties with her tattered clothes around her and tears streaming down her face. Naminé was huddled around her, tears streaming down her face as well. Riku quickly slid down beside Kairi to check on her. He looked up at the three ruffians that did this, but they were long gone.

"Those bastards…" Riku said as he looked down at the damage.

Riku recalled his Keyblade and helped Kairi up. He looked at her near naked body and turned away out of respect; and out of disgust at how heinous their actions were. He took off his own school uniform; stripping down to his t-shirt. He handed the large shirt to Kairi, who put it on. The shirt was just large enough to cover her exposed parts. Riku turned back to her with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry Kairi…I got held up by the teacher after class…" Riku said.

Kairi said nothing; she silently collected her tattered clothes and her bags. Riku walked over and grabbed her backpack, and the three made the slow walk to Kairi's house to get her cleaned up. They had to walk through the town, and everyone that saw Kairi ran up and tried to help her out. Kairi refused every time and continued on her way. They approached Kairi's house and Riku helped her up the stairs and into her house. Anne wasn't at home at this point in time, but she would be soon.

"I'm really sorry Kai..." Riku stated again.

Kairi turned and looked at him. Riku was taken aback by the stare that she gave him. He had never seen this kind of fire or anger in her eyes before.

"Riku…I want you…to meet me on the island in one hour…" Kairi said.

Riku said nothing for a few seconds, as he was shocked by the response he got. Kairi still looked at him, as if she was waiting for an answer from him. Riku looked at Naminé, who was just as stunned as he was. He turned back to Kairi, and stared at the battered and bloodied face of his friend. He slowly nodded in agreement. He turned around and left the house. He got down to the bottom step and began to walk off towards his own house.

"Riku."

Riku turned around at the sound of his name. He looked up at the top step and saw Kairi standing there. She wore a solemn expression.

"Bring your battle gear." She said simply and then disappeared back into the house. Riku stared in shock, and then began to walk back to his own house.

_Back in the Dark Realm: _

Sora and Yamato were valiantly fighting off the heartless that were assaulting them. Sora was having a somewhat easier time then he did in the forest when he first arrived, though having a fellow Keyblade master by his side definitely helped matters. In between putting down heartless, Sora caught glimpses of how Yamato was fighting. Sora was amazed at just how well Yamato was able to fight, even at his advanced age. He witnessed Yamato take out three heartless with one strike, and then _leap_ over a fat body and eliminating him with one blow. Yamato then turned and caught Sora's stare. Yamato chuckled a little bit.

"Not bad for a old timer eh?" He chortled.

Sora shook his head in agreement. This drew another chuckle from Yamato.

"Well thanks for the tips on these big guys here!" Yamato said, as he took off and attacked more heartless.

Sora watched him run off in awe. "Don't mention it…" Sora said, and then quickly turned back to the task at hand.

They battled for a bit while longer, until they had taken out a large number of them. They worked their way back towards the middle of the room and ended up back to back, as a new batch of heartless appeared and advanced on the dual Keyblade masters. Sora looked back at Yamato with a grin on his face.

"Ready for round two?" Sora asked.

Yamato smiled at that statement. "Are you kidding?" He asked, feigning shock; "This is the most fun I've had in years!"

Roxas meanwhile was searching high and low for the access point, seeing as he was unable to fight alongside the two of them, despite how much he wanted too. He longed to be a whole person again, much like he was before he merged with Sora; or at least as normal as a nobody could get. He wanted to be able to fight heartless as well as participate in all the fun activities that they used to do on the island. He actually wanted to play the sports that they played, rather than simply being regulated to being the referee. He thought of these things as he continued to wander the area to find the access point, which had thus far eluded him.

_On Destiny Island:_

Riku stood at a ready stance with his fists drawn, but the apprehension was clearly evident on his face. Kairi meanwhile, had a look of pure determination behind her swollen eye and the bandage that covered the gash on her head. It had taken her an hour to get herself cleaned up, and another hour to calm her mother down, who was livid at the situation. They had both switched to their traditional battle clothes, which felt rather chilly on this rather cool early fall day. Naminé was there as well, decked out in a pair of ripped jeans and a long sleeved white shirt with a splash of blue thrown in for color. This was nothing new for the two teens that squared off against each other; they had fought plenty of times before with their Keyblades. In fact, Riku and Sora had been responsible for Kairi's continued Keyblade training, which had been put on hold due to the fact that neither Riku nor Kairi felt like training after what they had just went through. This was different however, as now they were training in hand to hand combat, something that Riku was not too thrilled about.

"Kairi…are you sure you want to do this? I mean…what if I hurt you? Sora would kill me!" Riku said, thinking of any reason to dissuade Kairi from this course of action.

Kairi remained undeterred. "Riku…all my life I have had to let you and Sora fight my battles…and I'm sick of it. I can't use my Keyblade against them, so I have no other way to get back at them." She said with a fiery passion.

Riku thought about this for a second, as if he was weighing the consequences. He then finally relented, and began to instruct Kairi. Naminé watched the two spar but then slowly drifted her gaze towards the waves that crashed against the sand. The sun was slowly working its way back down behind the horizon, and upon glancing up she noticed some of the stars started to peak out from behind the cover of the night sky. She turned back to the two sparring and watched them with casual interest. The waves kept drawing her attention away though. One thing that she always wanted to do was to jump in the waves and feel the water around her. She had been able to float over them while the others were in…but never had been able to herself. She thought about how all the others were able to enjoy it…except for her and Roxas.

They were always left out of the fun activities. Not because they weren't liked, but because they simply couldn't. This shared experience helped them to develop a very close relationship, which had blossomed into a romance. She sighed as she thought of Roxas. All this talk of Sora and trying to keep Kairi from thinking about him had inadvertently suppressed her thoughts of Roxas. She missed him terribly, the way that he would always have a joke to make her laugh; no matter her mood. Suddenly; she was alone in the world. Granted Kairi was there, but it just wasn't the same. Kairi couldn't understand her condition and she never would. Roxas did though…and without him her life seemed incomplete.

"Roxas…I hoe you come home soon…" She whispered as she stared out to see.

_Back in the Realm of Darkness: _

Roxas continued to wander aimlessly looking for any sign of the access point. The search was becoming a real problem as he was back inside the castle looking for anything that pointed to the access point.

"God… this is hopeless!" Roxas cried out.

Almost as soon as he said that he heard a faint giggle behind him. He whirled around and his jaw nearly hit the floor. There standing before him was Naminé, floating in her white sundress.

"N…Naminé!?" Roxas choked out.

Naminé smiled, and motioned for her to follow him. She quickly darted down a hallway, forcing Roxas to follow her.

"Naminé!! Slow down!!" Roxas yelled out as the figure seemed to pull away from him.

They darted around corners and down hallways for a good ten minutes, before Naminé turned down a corner and Roxas lost sight of her. He turned down the corner and looked at the empty hallway. There was a dead end, and only one door.

"NAMINÉ!!" Roxas yelled out. He continued to call out but the name of his girlfriend as he raced towards the door, which was already open. He burst into the room, but found no sign of Naminé.

"NAMINÉ!!" He called again, but still no answer came.

Suddenly, he heard another giggle; this time from up above him. He looked up and had to shield his eyes from the bright green glow the burned his eyes. He rubbed them and slowly looked up again. He was stunned by what he saw.

"The access point!!" He blurted out.

He looked around the room, and then back out in the hallway for any sign of Naminé, but didn't find a trace of her.

"NAMINÉ!!" He called out, hoping for another glimpse of his sweetheart.

He screamed her name a few more times, but heard no more girlish giggles.

"NAMINÉ!!" He tried one last time, hoping to hear something.

"Roxas!!? Where are you at?" He heard a low masculine voice call out.

Roxas immediately recognized the voice as his friend Sora.

"I'm over here Sora!" Roxas answered back.

A few seconds later; Sora and Yamato emerged in the hallway looking no worse for wear. Sora looked at Roxas with a puzzling look, and Roxas did the same.

"How did you get away?" Roxas asked the duo.

"Well, we took out a great deal of them, and then we kinda got bored and started searching for you, we killed off the remaining heartless as we walked around." Sora said nonchalantly.

"Oh…well I found the access point…it's in this room." Roxas told them, trying to ignore Sora's cockiness.

"Excellent! Let's be off then!" Yamato said. Sora still looked at Roxas with some confusion.

"Why were you calling out for Naminé?" He asked.

"Because I saw her! She led me to this room and the access point!" Roxas said quickly.

"Are you serious!?" Sora cried out excitedly. His expression quickly changed however once he thought about it for a few seconds more. "Wait a minute…how is that even possible?" Sora wondered.

"It was merely the darkness son; it plays tricks on you like that. Just be thankful that it worked out in your favor." Yamato said in an attempt to explain it.

Roxas nodded as if to say that he agreed, but he wasn't completely sure that he fully believed it. Yamato meanwhile had made his way into the room, and Sora followed. Roxas was the last to come in the room, as he took one more look around the hallway; only to find nothing. Yamato quickly took his Keyblade out and placed it on the green access point which allowed him to pass through it. Roxas then floated up and touched it, disappearing as well. Sora took one last look around and then followed suit.

_Back in Destiny City: _

"Thanks for the training Riku…we'll do it again tomorrow!" Kairi said as she walked into her house.

It was late, the stars were out in full and her mother was fast asleep. Kairi was very sore from the training, and had a few bruises. They had been training for a couple weeks now, and fall was in full swing. Kairi was becoming a very fast learner, and had improved tremendously in her fighting skills. Better yet, she had started to feel better about her situation, even though she would still think about Sora a lot. Much to her chagrin; she had been unable to utilize her skills against those thugs, as they had all but vanished following the incident. This was largely because they were hated in the town for their actions, and for their desecration of the Sora monument. Kairi walked into the bathroom and hopped into the shower. Naminé meanwhile floated over into Kairi's room, and was joined by Kairi in short order. Kairi got dressed in her pajamas, while Naminé slipped on her nightgown. Kairi pulled back the covers and laid her head down on the pillow. Naminé meanwhile took a seat on a small chair that was in her room.

"Halloween is next week!" Naminé said suddenly.

"That's right!" Kairi said, with a small smile.

"We need to think of a costume!" Naminé said.

"We can do that in the morning Naminé." Kairi said to her friend.

Kairi rolled over and flipped on the radio that was next to her bed. She heard the opening rifts of a song that she liked and settled in for the night. Naminé gently floated into Kairi, obviously tired from such a long and trying day. Kairi listened as the vocalist began to sing.

_Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick and think of you  
Caught up in circles confusion is nothing new  
You say go slow; I fall behind  
The second hand unwinds_

If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you; I'll be waiting  
Time after time  


Kairi listened to the lyrics and drifted off to thoughts of Sora, and how she missed him almost every day. While she was feeling better, she still thought of him constantly. She thought of all the times that she had a chance to tell him how she felt, but she never did.__

Sometimes you picture me I'm walking too far ahead   
You're calling to me I can't hear just what you've said  
You say go slow; I fall behind  
The second hand unwinds

If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time 

If you fall I will catch you; I'll be waiting  
Time after time

After my picture fades and darkness has turned to grey   
Watching through windows, you're wondering if I'm ok  
You say go slow; I fall behind  
The drum beats out of time

If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting  
Time after time

Kairi's eyes began to feel very heavy. She had a long day, with two exams and a two hour training session with Riku. Her mind drifted off to Sora, and the warm smile that he always wore for her. She thought of that image and nothing else. __

If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting  
Time after time 

The song began to wind down, and Kairi drifted off into sleep with the thought of Sora and his smile in her head. _  
_

_Time after time…_

**End of Chapter 3**


	4. The Specter Returns

_Well this is a little bit late, largely due to the fact that I had laser eye surgery on Friday, thus preventing me from really feeling like doing much on a computer for a bit. Still I feel much better now, and with my improved eyesight I was able to pump this next chapter out. I really like the way that this and the last chapter have come out so far. I seem to be getting my writing groove back, which was still a little shaky in the first two chapters, but I'm really looking forward to how the rest of this turns out, and for the next one. _

_The following characters in this novel are not mine, and they are owned by Square-Enix and Disney respectively. The only ones that are mine are: Ami, Rei, Mako, Yamato, and Ankoku._

_With that said, I hope you guys enjoy chapter four!_

**Chapter 4: The Specter Returns**

By now the temperature had dropped significantly on the island, as cool autumn breezes and perennial gray skies, had overtaken the once sunny, tropical, paradise. Kairi pulled her hooded jacket closer to her body as the wind picked up. Riku seemed unbothered by the changing weather, although it seemed to enhance his already darkened mood. Kairi and Naminé were growing concerned over Riku's increasingly depressive nature, but every time that they tried to talk to him about it, he would either change the subject, or grunt and walk off. They both had come to the conclusion that Sora's absence was the reason for this change in Riku, but Kairi wondered if there was something more. Naminé floated alongside the duo, decked out in traditional fall garb with a hoodie and blue jeans. The trio made their way through the town, which was quiet on this particular lazy Sunday afternoon. The stores were all decked out in orange and black, with various carved pumpkins peering out at them through the windows.

"So Riku…did you decide on whether or not you are coming to the big Halloween party tonight?" Naminé asked her silver haired friend.

Riku looked off into the distance, but gave no answer. Naminé stared at him with a small amount of confusion. Kairi shared that same look, as they waited for a response from their friend. Riku said nothing, and continued to walk on back towards the cluster of homes that made up their neighborhood.

"I take it that means you aren't going…" Kairi said, with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Riku looked at her with an apologetic stare.

"Sorry Kai…I have to work tonight at the drug store…and I won't get off until late…" He said.

"That's too bad…" Naminé said, equally bummed.

Riku looked at the two drooping faces and forced a half-hearted smile. "Hey come on guys…don't feel bad on my account…you two will have a blast! Tidus and Selphie will be there!" Riku stated.

"Yeah…I guess you're right…" Kairi said, forcing a smile of her own.

"Well, I have to go and get ready for work, but I will see you two later; and have fun tonight!" Riku said as he ran off towards his house.

The two girls waved goodbye to their departing friend. They then made their way back towards their home, and discussed about the night that lay ahead of them.

_Later that night…_

The sun was slowly setting on the island, and all the ghouls and goblins were ready to emerge into the chilly moonlit night. Joining them in their masquerade were countless witches, vampires, and other assorted monsters. The school was decked out for Halloween, and the exterior of the building was covered with various decorations. Students were dressed up in various costumes, and piling into the school. A group of four made the trek up the hill and towards the schoolhouse. Tidus and Selphie led the way as Naminé and Kairi brought up the rear. Tidus and Selphie had decided to go as a tandem and were dressed up as a mad doctor and his psycho nurse. Naminé had decided on a fairy costume, which consisted of a ruffle-trimmed, white, spaghetti strap top with a light green hue. It tied up in the middle with a pearl encrusted bow. She wore a matching mint green and gold skirt that looked like the petals on a flower. Her blonde hair was done up with a white ribbon, and she wore a pair of dragonfly style wings, and she was doused with glitter. Not too shabby for someone who by all rights shouldn't have been able to obtain the materials for the costume.

Kairi on the other hand had opted for a celestial witch costume. She wore a black velvet gown that cut off at the arms with shoulder straps. Replacing the dark velvet were sheer sleeves with printed crescent moons on them. The prints also ran down the breast plate of the dress, and split apart, running down the sides of the dress. It fit her hips well, giving her more of a curvy figure, as opposed to the other bulky witch costumes that she had seen walking around. She wore a matching witch hat and dark make up and lipstick for a more sinister feel to the costume. Her auburn hair was left down, and she was easily the best looking witch at the dance. She was delighted with the costume, and so thankful that her mother had been able to whip it out so quickly. Selphie turned around and smiled at her two friends.

"You two look awesome!" She gushed.

Kairi and Naminé both wore ear to ear grins. It felt great to actually be out for once. The past month had been nothing but school and training. Other than training and walking to school, they didn't see Riku at all. He was constantly out of the house, and his parents usually had no idea of where he went. Tidus and Selphie were constantly busy with various school related organizations. Tidus was also looking into various Blitzball organizations that were actively recruiting him following his graduation. Selphie was still serving as class president and homecoming queen. All in all, everyone was too busy for Kairi and Naminé. This was not new to them however, as Tidus and Selphie had been dealing with outside influences for well over a year now. Riku had always been sketchy, sometimes there and sometimes not. However, with the absence of Sora and Roxas this lack of friends around them had become more enhanced than it had previously been.

They made their way into the school, and navigated the hallways to find the gymnasium that was transformed into a dance hall. The gym was crowded and dark, with several spotlights and some orange strobe lights added. There were orange and black streamers strewn about in various crossing patterns, and various skeletons, spiders, and bats hung from the ceiling. There was a deejay at the front of the room, with four enormous speakers around him. The group also noticed several of their teachers were there acting as chaperones, and each were dressed up in their own unique costume. Almost immediately as they entered the party, Tidus and Selphie were dragged off by a various group of their friends, leaving Kairi and Naminé alone. Within a few minutes the duo was back, with token apologies as well.

"Sorry! We just had to say hi to all of them!" Selphie said with a kind smile.

However this would become a trend throughout the rest of the evening. Frequently Tidus and Selphie would have to go and see other people that they knew, or teachers that wanted to say hello as well. Several teachers had come over to Kairi and Naminé, but all they seemingly desired to talk about was the events of the past, and some of the political ramifications of King Mickey's World Council and the improved Heartless Warning System. Kairi would be asked her thoughts on it, but she really didn't care; she would stammer quietly until the teachers would walk away. After the 5th instance of this and the 8th instance of Tidus and Selphie abandoning them, Kairi was about ready to leave the party.

"Maybe we should go Naminé…" Kairi said silently.

Naminé could see that her friend was not having the time of her life at this party, but she wanted Kairi to actually get out and do something for once. All this training and cooping up inside to do schoolwork had caused her to become more and more distant from everyone save Riku, and even then it was a depression filled evening with those two. Kairi needed to get out and do stuff, for her own health.

"Nah! Let's go dance!" Naminé said as she floated over to the dance floor.

Kairi was a little reluctant, not really sure if she wanted to be out there. This was definitely a far cry from the girl that had once dragged Sora out to the dance floor when they were twelve. Tidus and Selphie soon came back over to where Kairi was standing.

"Sorry…Kai…" Tidus apologized before noticing that one of the group was missing. "Hey where did Naminé go?"

Kairi pointed out to the dance floor to Naminé who was dancing alone. Selphie looked at Tidus, who shared the look. They both grabbed Kairi and started walking her towards the dance floor.

"Stop!" Kairi cried out. "What are you guys doing?" Kairi stammered out.

"Naminé has the right idea…you need to loosen up…" Selphie stated.

"Don't worry…we'll be right there with you." Tidus said reassuring her.

They made their way to where Naminé was already dancing, and joined in. Kairi was hesitant at first, but at the prodding of her friends, slowly began to warm up to the idea. Before long she was laughing and having a great time with her friends. She was participating in the group dances.

"This is awesome!" Kairi exclaimed to her friends. "I love Thriller!"

It was a great time, and they danced for quite awhile. Kairi was having such a good time that she didn't even notice that Tidus and Selphie had stepped off to take a quick breather. Kairi was still dancing, not really paying attention where she was going, and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "I'm sorry!" She said to the person with their back turned.

"You had better be!" The person roared back.

Kairi recognized the voice, and once the man turned around she realized that she had just bumped into the last person that she wanted to see at this moment…Mako. Within seconds Ami and Rei were by his side. Mako was dressed up as some type of post-apocalyptic cyber punk, which was a similar costume of the twins. They had also changed their hair as Rei was now all black, and Ami was dyed orange. They all grinned at Kairi who was stunned to see the trio that had wronged her a few weeks ago.

"Well…well…well…if it isn't the little bitch that got Johnny Law on our butts…" Mako said with a sneer.

"The nerve that she has to even show up here…" Rei added.

Ami and Rei clenched their fists, ready to do some damage to Kairi. However, unlike two weeks ago, Kairi didn't flinch or back down. She had been training non-stop for just such an incident like this. Ami noticed this and snickered at Kairi.

"Ooh looks like someone has their big girl pants on!" Ami said.

She walked right up to Kairi and looked her over. She then got nose to nose with Kairi, her breath felt hot on Kairi's nose.

"What are you gonna do huh? Your silver haired friend ain't here to save you…and neither is that dumb ass Sora!" She said, seemingly baiting Kairi to take a swing at her.

When Kairi made no move, Ami merely snickered and turned away. However it turned out to be a feint as she quickly spun back around and grabbed Kairi's dress and ripped a piece it off. She took the piece of tattered clothing and tossed it back in Kairi's face. Kairi looked down, and saw that a bit of her bra was showing again. Rei saw this and snickered.

"Now that's a familiar sight!" She stated, drawing laughter from her friends.

Kairi looked back up at the trio, a fire in her eyes. She was prepared to teach these creeps a lesson that they wouldn't soon forget. She crouched down, taking the same fighting stance that she had taken many times before when she had sparred with Riku. This caused an absolute laughing riot amongst the trio, as they hooted and hollered at Kairi's fighting stance. This caused more than a few students to look over and see what was going on. Within seconds a small circle had formed around them. Naminé meanwhile was floating away looking for some chaperone, Tidus, or anyone that might be able to help. Ami and Rei wiped away tears and walked right up to her.

"You wanna play little girl? Fine by us!" Ami said, as the orange-haired twin charged at Kairi.

This time Kairi was ready for her. She leapt over her, catching Ami completely off guard, and delivered a square kick in the back; sending Ami sprawling across the gym floor. Ami skidded until she crashed into one of the refreshment tables. Kairi regained her stance and turned her attention now to the shocked Rei and Mako. Rei shook off the shock and lunged at Kairi as well. She launched a barrage of strikes, all which were countered by Kairi, and turned into a barrage of her own. Kairi launched several strikes with her forearms and knees, delivering a high knee to the chin or Rei. Rei staggered around, but Kairi quickly put her down with a throw, that had her aggressor down on the floor clutching her jaw. She stared down at her fallen opponent and looked up at the crowd that had gathered around them. She recognized Naminé, Tidus, and Selphie and a few teachers, who were actually seemingly more interested in seeing Mako and his gang getting their just desserts, then step in. She saw some of them stare at something behind her, with shocked expressions. Kairi quickly whirled around and saw Mako lunging at her with a knife. He raised the knife up and brought it down towards Kairi's face. Naminé let out a scream and covered her eyes.

She waited for the bloodcurdling scream that was soon to emerge from Kairi's lips, but it never came. She looked up slowly and saw Kairi standing there, with Mako out cold on the ground. A trickle of blood emerged from Mako's forehead. In Kairi's right hand was her Keyblade, the Angel's Wing. The blade had a heart-shaped bottom, which stretched out into three curved blades that looked like angel wings, hence the reason that Kairi gave it that name. The entire Keyblade was a light pink color, with the exception of the blades, which were a pure white. Kairi panted a bit, and then straightened up out of her stance. She looked down at the carnage, and recalled her Keyblade. She then looked up at the several hundred people that were gawking at her. Even the teachers were stunned by what they saw. Kairi began to feel very uneasy about all the looks that she was getting. Soon the whispers began to start, and a small tear formed in Kairi's eye. She quickly darted off, tearing through the crowd heading for the exit. Kairi ignored the calls of her friends and some of the teachers as she darted out the school and down the dirt path. Rather than head back home, she opted to take a left towards the bridge that led to the island.

She raced on the beach, which was abandoned in the cold October night. She could hear the faint sounds of police cars that were probably pulling up to the school right now to find out what was going on. Kairi ignored all of this as she had one goal in mind. She kicked up sand as she went, until she arrived at the spot that she wanted to be at. She slowed down to a stop as she came upon the now cleaned up monument that was dedicated to Sora. She slowly walked up to the monument and knelt down in front it. The monument depicted Sora with his Keyblade in one hand and his trademark smile adorned across his face. She looked up into the statues face, and all her feelings and emotions came flooding out. She cried and cried, wishing and praying that she could just feel his touch one more time, that somehow he would emerge from the shadows and wrap her in a big hug. But no such thing happened, and so she sat there, gazing at the monument as the waves crashed down on the dark sandy shore.

_Back in the realm of darkness:_

The gang had landed into a new area, which was covered with a heavy under brush that made it very difficult to see anything beyond what was right in front of their face. Sora looked around, particularly at one specific section of the area. A smirk formed on his face, as if he had discovered something.

"Well…this is a familiar place…" Sora said, as he began walking towards the area that he was looking at.

Sora whipped out his Keyblade, and began a slow process of hacking his way through the various plants and trees that were in his way. Yamato brought forth his Keyblade and began to assist Sora in his endeavor. Roxas watched on, but was puzzled by his friend's statement.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas queried; "How can you even tell where we are? This area is so dense with plant life that I can't see twenty yards ahead of me!"

Sora continued to hack through the plants. "Think about it Roxas…where have we been that has had this much plant life?" He said as he chopped a huge branch to pieces with one swing.

Roxas thought about the statement carefully. "Some type of forest?"

Sora hacked off another huge branch, and then turned towards his friend. He had a grin on his face.

"You're close!" He said as he pointed to the area that he had been cutting away through.

Roxas stared through the cleared pathway, and saw a large waterfall that was running off a cliff. The waterfall ended up in a small river that flowed down into another waterfall off another cliff. Upon seeing that Roxas immediately knew where they were.

"This is the Deep Jungle!" Roxas cried out.

"Or at least…the dark side of it…" Sora stated correctly.

"Yeah…I don't think I'm ever going to forget that waterfall…" Roxas said, remembering the dive that Sora had taken to elude the possessed Riku.

"Well…now that we at least know where we are..." Yamato began. "Do you boys have any idea where the access point might be?" Yamato asked.

"Hmm…I guess the campsite could have it…" Sora suggested.

Roxas nodded in agreement. Yamato then recalled his blade and slapped Sora on the back.

"Well then…lead away Sora!" He exclaimed.

The three of them made their way along the river bank, towards the deeper parts of the jungle. They made their way down several cliffs, and ended up spying the tree house where Sora had crash-landed about four years ago.

"The encampment should be near by!" Sora said, as they pressed on further.

After a few more minutes of walking and cutting away some more plants, they stumbled onto a large campsite.

"Here we are!" Roxas exclaimed.

The campsite had grown quite a bit over the years, as the expeditions had grown much larger. There were now many different tents, and they had taken up a far greater area then they once did. Professor Porter's campsite was off closer to where the gorillas lived, but he still would do most of his work down in the main camp area. However, this particular camp was empty, with no sign of human life. Sora and Roxas remembered how this place had typically been bustling with activity, and it was depressing to see it this way. Yamato caught the expressions of the two young warriors and quickly tried to get them back on the right track.

"That access point is probably around here somewhere…perhaps we should split up as a way to cover more ground?" He suggested.

Sora and Roxas nodded in agreement and took off for different parts of the camp. They searched the camps for a good twenty minutes, but so far nothing had turned up. Most of the huts were bare, and the ones that weren't only contained a leaf or something similar. Sora emerged from a hut close to the bamboo thicket and let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Man…where could that thing be?" He moaned to himself.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw a shape dart across the area. He quickly turned his attention to it, and drew his blade. His eyes darted back and forth but spotted nothing. Suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his eye again. He whirled around, but there was nothing there. He then heard a thud behind him, and spun around. What he saw made him nearly drop his Keyblade. There stood a boy that looked to be about his age. He was knelt down on the ground, but through the moonlight Sora could make out the young man's long silver hair.

"Riku? Is that you?" Sora asked with bewilderment.

He recalled his Keyblade and slowly walked towards the figure. The figure did nothing and said nothing. Sora began to notice that the figure was breathing heavily. Sora got to within a few yards of the figure; when all of a sudden the figure stood up and stared at Sora. The face was Riku's but his eyes were a deep red, and his teeth appeared to be sharp like fangs. This sight caused Sora to take a step back.

"You…you're not Riku!!" Sora cried, and quickly called back his blade.

The fake Riku pounced, and Sora was just able to get his Keyblade up and block the attack. Riku took a swipe at Sora, but Sora dodged it and countered with a horizontal slice of his own. Riku evaded it and then bounded off towards the bamboo thicket. Sora raced off after him, with his blade at the ready. Sora entered the thicket but found it to be very quiet. The giant area was completely empty, but as Sora made his way slowly towards the middle of the area, he noticed something shimmering on the mound that sat in the middle of the area. Cautiously, Sora approached the mound, ready for an attack from Riku. As he grew closer the object seemed to grow bigger and wider. It seemed to be taking the form of a human shape. Sora continued to watch it, while periodically looking around to see if the fake Riku was nearby. Finally the object began to glow, and Sora was able to make out what the shape was. When he realized what he was looking at, his jaw hit the floor. There was a girl before him; and the auburn hair and blue eyes were a dead give away…it was Kairi.

She was crying…and her clothing was ripped. She appeared to be crying out for him, but no voice came out. Her make-up seemed to be running and she was clutching a statue of some sort. Sora watched with disbelief as this scene seemed to carry on. Suddenly the vision began to fade away.

"No!!" Sora cried out as he rushed up to her.

As he did that he heard a growl behind him. He quickly turned around just in time to see the fake Riku flying at him ready to strike. Sora quickly rolled out of the way, and got back to his feet just in time to block another offensive strike by the fake Riku. Sora quickly blocked that attack, and gave a counter strike that knocked the beast back. Sora then used this opportunity to quickly launch a strike of his own, and was able to land a glancing blow on Riku's left shoulder. Riku let out a loud shriek, and jumped back. Sora refused to let up though, and quickly followed up with an aerial strike. Sora jumped high into the air and then brought his Keyblade down hard, connecting with the creature's spine. There was another scream, and black ooze began to seep out of the creature's wound. Sora pulled out the blade and watched the creature slowly melt into a puddle of ooze, and then finally vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

Sora recalled his blade and quickly turned back towards the vision, but there was no trace of it. While he was busy fighting off that demon, the image had vanished into thin air. Sora looked around for any sign of Kairi but there wasn't any.

"KAIRI!!" Sora cried out as he raced around the area looking for any sign of her, or the object that had shown him the vision.

He heard some footsteps behind him, and quickly whirled around with the blade ready, in case there was another attack. When he saw that it was just Yamato he lowered his blade and began looking for the vision. Yamato watched Sora with a concerned look, and Roxas floated up next to him.

"I heard a yell…what's going on?" Roxas asked.

Yamato pointed over to Sora, who was still frantically screaming out loud for Kairi. Roxas watched in confusion before finally floating over towards his friend, with Yamato bringing up the rear.

"Sora…calm down!!" Roxas said, racing up to him. "What are you yelling about!?" Roxas asked his wild-eyed friend.

Sora was still glancing around for Kairi, paying little to no attention to the fact that Yamato and Roxas were screaming at him. He continued to search, until finally Yamato had enough, and forcefully grabbed Sora by the shoulders.

"Calm down!" Yamato urged.

"What's gotten into you Sora?" Roxas asked with concern.

"Kairi! I saw her! She was in trouble!" Sora said quickly.

Yamato sighed and let go of the young Keyblade master.

"I told you boys that the darkness will play tricks on you…it wasn't real." Yamato stated.

"But she was here!" Sora screamed at him, causing Yamato to grab a hold of him yet again.

Roxas watched Yamato restrain Sora, but his thoughts immediately turned to what he had seen while he was in Beast's castle.

"What if it's not a trick?" Roxas asked. "What if it is a sign?"

Yamato looked at Roxas.

"I would doubt that very much…there is no possible way that we have any connection to the outside world…I would have seen something by now if they could." He said.

By now Sora had calmed down and was listening to the conversation rather intently.

But Kairi and Sora have a very special connection much like I do with Naminé… maybe that is what is causing these visions…" Roxas countered.

"She was crying…and her clothing was ripped…" Sora said entering the conversation. "What if she's in trouble?"

Yamato shook his head.

"Sora…Roxas… you shouldn't worry about it. Kairi and Naminé are probably both fine. I've seen visions of my wife many times. They are always the same…I would always see my beloved in some sort of pain or speaking ill of me. It's not real…" Yamato explained.

"But when I saw Naminé…she led me to an access point…and she was happy and giggling!" Roxas said.

This caught Yamato by surprise. He thought about that as if he was racking his brain to find an answer for it.

"Hmmm… that is strange, and something that I haven't seen…" Yamato said.

He looked up at Roxas who seemed to have a feeling of triumph in his stance. Yamato quickly waved it off however.

"While that is indeed strange, I still wouldn't put too much faith into it…in this place it is best to push everything that you see out of your mind. You can't trust your perception at all in this place…" Yamato warned.

Roxas looked for a counter, but reluctantly nodded. Sora meanwhile still stared down at the ground.

"Kairi…please be okay…"

Yamato bent down next to the young warrior, and gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry son…just keep your head down and your eyes forward on the goal…you'll be home before you know it…besides…moping around isn't helping you or Kairi for that matter." He told the young Keyblade master.

Sora looked up at Yamato, and then back down at the ground. Yamato sighed and looked at the young man.

"Sora…when we first started out on this journey; I warned you that you would see things and face things that would challenge you, and that you needed to be ready to face them. So far you have done an exemplary job, but you need to focus on the task at hand. If you can accomplish that…then we might be able to leave this place and then you can see Kairi." Yamato stated.

Sora thought about these words, and looked up into the face of Yamato. Yamato stared back at his with a warm, almost sage-like smile on his face. Sora was able to force a smile and nod to show that he understood what this journey would take. Sora slowly got back up to his feet and stared at Yamato.

You're right…it won't do me any good to cry about it…we need to move on and find the access point!" Sora said, with a hint of vigor and courage returning to his voice.

Yamato beamed with pride at Sora and patted him on the back.

"That's the spirit my lad!" Yamato said with a grin.

"Um…guys?" Roxas said, suddenly butting into the conversation. His voice was one of concern, which seemed to suck the happiness right out of the air. "You might want to take a look at this…"

Sora and Yamato turned towards Roxas and saw what he was pointing at. Hordes upon hordes of heartless had blocked off the area that led back towards the encampment. Sora quickly turned around to see if the other exit had been blocked off; and was dismayed to find that it had. There were more heartless than they had seen at any other time in their short travels. Hundreds of soldiers and shadows were appearing in droves, joined with several fat bodies and a new entity in the invisibles. Slowly but surely they were surrounding the trio. Sora quickly drew the Oathkeeper and Yamato drew his own Keyblade. They began to attack the various hordes, doing a fair bit of damage to their ranks. However, after twenty minutes of fighting, they had to pull back and gasp for air. Sora wiped sweat from his forehead.

"These heartless are a lot stronger…and it doesn't seem that we are making much progress." He stated.

"That's because for every one you kill it seems like three more appear to take its place." Roxas observed.

"These are like no heartless I've ever faced…" Sora stated.

"Where could all these beasts have come from?" Yamato wondered aloud.

"I believe I can provide that answer…" A voice rang out from high above them; cutting right through their conversation.

Sora and Roxas recognized the voice right off the bat, and it sent a chill down their spine. They lifted their heads skywards towards the origin of the voice. They could make out a figure with the help of the moon, floating in air. The figure appeared to be a man with long wavy hair. The figure began to draw closer to the trio, and as he did, they were able to make out more of his features; and as each one became visible, the pit in Sora and Roxas's stomach seemed to grow deeper. The shoulder length silver hair that fanned out at the bottom with red tips; the two distinguishable scars over his right eye and along his left jawbone; the silver cloak that adorned his body, all of these features identified him as the man that both Roxas and Sora had believed to be dead. They stared in horror as this ghost from their past gazed back at them with a sinister look in his eyes. Yamato watched this figure with curiosity and awe before finally breaking the silence.

"Who…or what…are you?" He asked the specter that floated before them.

The ghost stared down at him with a surprised look on his face.

"My deepest apologies old man…" The figure said with a low voice. "I hadn't expected to find anyone else here…other then my two dear friends here." The man said, gesturing towards Sora and Roxas, whose faces were as white as ghosts.

This seemed to give the figure a small amount of pleasure, and the sick grin on his face seemed to show it. He then turned his attention back to Yamato, who was still waiting for an answer.

"Allow me to introduce myself…" He said as he twisted his face into a sick smile.

"My name is Ankoku…and I will be your executioner!"

**End of Chapter 4**

_Dun Dun Dun!! Did I ever tell you guys that I love cliff-hangers? I hope this will encourage more people to read the next chapters. Expect Chapter five sometime in the next two weeks. As for now…See ya!_


	5. A Brief Intermission: Not A New Chapter

_A Brief Intermission_

_I have been getting some emails asking about several elements of both stories, so I thought I would clear things up here with a couple FAQ's. _

**Q: What is going on with this timeline?**

**A: **Okay this has been kind of confusing I will admit, heck, there have been times when I have to sit down and figure it out. Okay let's start it off like this. At the beginning of Fugitive Hearts; Sora and Kairi were 17, and Riku was 18. Kairi and Sora are separated by one month, in November (Sora) and December (Kairi). Riku's is in June. The beginning of the story takes place in late May, and the students have just started a new school year. They way that I imagined their school system working is that they start and end school in May. The year would end in the early part of May, and then they took a two week break and started a new year. So this would start in the late part of May, with them starting their new classes, which Kairi is a senior now, and Sora and Riku can now be sophomores (based on the fact that they missed so much school during the first two games).

Now; the entire story of Fugitive Hearts takes just under three months, meaning that when Sora and Roxas entered the Realm of Darkness, it was now middle of August. Kairi and Riku attended the funeral, which happened towards the end of August and then started back at school in the early days of September. As of that, the timeline in the real world will be whatever it is in the chapter. The timeline as it pertains to the realm of darkness is much quicker than that of the real world, as evident by the fact that Yamato is still around.

**Q: How fast does time move in the Realm of Darkness?**

**A: **As I stated above; time fluctuates in the Realm of Darkness. Yamato had been stuck in this area for over 40 years, which translated into roughly 2 centuries. So this means that time moves five times as fast in the Realm than it does in the real world. So for example: in the real world it has gone from the middle of August to the end of October up to this point, giving us about 77 days if we say that Sora left on the 15th of August. We would take 77 days and divide it by 5 to get roughly 15; so the time that Sora has been in the realm would be just over two weeks.

**Q: So far we have seen none of the Disney characters…can we expect to see them?**

**A: **You need to keep in mind; the events of Fugitive Hearts were devastating to the worlds, to the point that they were heavily damaged. As of right now, most of the characters; seeing as they are responsible for their various worlds, they are more than likely trying to get order to their worlds in order. The focus of this story is more on Sora and Kairi; and how each of them are trying to get back to the life that they once knew. Now this is not to say that we won't see some of them in the upcoming chapters, but don't expect to see them in the amount that you did in Fugitive Hearts. Stay tuned for the final installment of the chronicles of darkness though!

**Q: About that…why the name change?**

**A: **Well…I wanted a way to connect all of these stories, and this seemed like a good way to do it. Plus I think it sounds cooler.

**Q: How is Ankoku still alive?**

**A: **He's alive? I don't recall ever saying that he was…he could just be a figment of the darkness…or I could be pulling your leg…I guess the only way to find out is to continue reading!

**Q: So where is Maleficent? **

**A: **That's a great question…I wish I knew.

**Q: You're messing with us aren't you?**

**A: **…maybe!

**Q: …jerk…**

**A: **I don't think that's a question…and we seem to be getting off topic…

**Q: Why do you think that Against All Odds doesn't seem to be getting the same level of readership that Fugitive Hearts did?**

**A: **Well I think it's still too early to tell how Against All Odds will finish out, but remember Fugitive Hearts got off to a slow start, but ended up jumping about midway through. Funny thing is that since I started Against All odds I have received 160 hits; but Fugitive Hearts has received over 200. The problem is that Against All Odds is a sequel, and in order to fully realize what's going on in Against All Odds…you need to read the first one…and Fugitive Hearts is one very long story. A few of the old regulars stayed around (thanks Shire and Mrfipp…you too knux) but I think that a lot stopped after I took my vacation from writing. Though I miss some of the old readers like Fernclaw, but hopefully we will be able to get some new ones here soon.

**Q: What happened to the original ending of Fugitive Hearts?**

**A: **I wanted to take it off and stick it on the end of this story, but it ended up getting deleted, and I lost it. But I then decided that I wanted to do an even better one for this one, so I decided to change it and go with the new one.

**Q: What does the future hold for you?**

**  
A: **Well I'm going to finish this story hopefully by the summer; school and time permitting. After that I hope to make the final story a long term project for me as I will have work to do in addition to all of that. Hopefully that one will get done by next winter or next spring at the very latest…it will be a long one boys and girls! After that…well who knows what will happen. I've begun to really enjoy writing so maybe I will try my hand at some other stuff, and maybe some original pieces as well. Only time will tell.

**Q: Can I have five bucks?**

**A: **…no…this interview is over…

Hope this answers some of the questions that I've gotten. Look for chapter 5 to come out here soon!

Later!


	6. The True Power of Darkness

_MAN THIS WAS A LONG CHAPTER!!! I hadn't planned on it but as some of you writers will know (cough…shire…cough...) Sometimes you end up getting in a groove and by the time you are done you have a huge chapter on your hands. _

_I'm glad that this chapter is done though…_

_I own Ankoku, Anne, and Yamato…all other characters are property of Square-Enix and Disney…_

_Well without further delay…_

_Here is chapter 5!_

**Chapter 5: The True Power of Darkness**

"H…how is this possible?" Sora stuttered out, stunned by the apparition of his past that appeared before him.

Ankoku smiled devilishly at the shocked Keyblade Master. He held out his hand, and a glob of black slime oozed out of his palm. Sora watched as the blob quivered and seemed to morph as he twisted his hand in various ways. When it finally stopped Sora saw that the once amorphous shape had changed into a long, black, sword. The blade curved upwards, branching out into a rounded cleaver. On top of the cleaver, thin spikes jutted out, giving the blade a more defined shape. Sora immediately raised his Keyblade, as did Yamato, in preparation of an attack. Ankoku saw this and chuckled to himself.

"Don't worry…I promise that I won't use this blade on any of you…I have far worse horrors in store for you!" Ankoku stated through clenched teeth.

Ankoku the proceeded to take his newly formed blade, and jammed it hard into his stomach. He let out a gasp of pain, and looked down at the now fresh wound, watching a mixture of blood and black gunk slowly seeped out, leaving a dark stain on his robe. Sora was astonished, wondering why Ankoku would do such a thing. Ankoku looked up into Sora's face with a pained expression. Sora watched his eyes flash, and a sick smile formed on his face. Sora watched in awe as Ankoku pulled the blade out of his stomach. With an unaffected expression, Ankoku pulled down his robe far enough to where the trio could see the wound that Ankoku had created. Sora scanned Ankoku's face, trying to figure out what Ankoku was trying to do. The gasps that emerged around him didn't pull him away, from Ankoku's eyes; but the cry of Roxas did.

"Oh…my…god…!" Roxas said, interrupting Sora's concentration.

Sora turned his attention to where Roxas was staring at. Sora looked on in amazement as the wound began to fill with the black slime and slowly got smaller. The three watched as the wound got smaller and smaller until it completely closed up, with no sign of a scar whatsoever. It was as if he never stabbed himself in the first place! Ankoku dismissed the blade, and pulled his robe back up. He gazed down at the astounded faces below and chortled.

"How..." Sora started before Ankoku cut him off.

"It's quite simple Sora!" Ankoku began with a sneer.

"As you know I was abducted by Ansem's team of scientists; and prodded and probe in many of their experiments…many of which involved the essence of pure darkness." He said, with his eyes showing pleasure at the mention of it.

"It's a fascinating substance, one that has a wide variety of uses…ones that you have seen in action Sora; did you enjoy my Riku duplicate?" He asked Sora, who continued to glare with anger at Ankoku.

"So…you're the reason why these infernal heartless are in this place!" Yamato suddenly stated.

"Yes, those creatures are but one aspect of my full power…" Ankoku said to the sage-like warrior.

"Another one of those powers is the ability to heal oneself from all physical harm…which is the one that I just demonstrated for you…" He said with a sneer.

"Now I will give you some credit Sora…as the blows that you struck me with were far greater than anything that my restorative powers could come back from in the world of light." Ankoku said, before looking around at the environment and opening his arms, seemingly reveling in it all.

"But in this _wonderful _place…a world of pure darkness…I become invincible!" He said, taking almost orgasmic pleasure in that statement.

"My powers increase, and are now to the point now that you are all no match for me!" He said with a disturbing grin.

"If you thought that I was strong before Sora…well then wait until you see me…AT FULL POWER!" Ankoku roared as his eyes ceased flashing and became deep red.

Black slime began pouring out of his arms, lapping over the heartless that surrounded the trio. Sora and Yamato quickly jumped up to the mound that was situated in the middle of the bamboo thicket and watched the ooze rise up to the point that it latched on to their ankles. They used their Keyblades to free themselves from the ooze, but it continued to latch onto the brave fighters. Ankoku watched this all with great amusement as the two struggled with the ooze.

"Don't fight it Sora! Just accept your fate and DIE!!" Ankoku yelled, before cackling again.

_Meanwhile…back in Destiny City: _

"Selphie dear…can you make the pie crusts?" Anne stated as she looked up from the onions she was cutting, brushing a tear out of her eye.

"Sure thing Mrs. Uchida!" Selphie cheerfully replied.

Anne sighed and turned toward Kairi and Naminé, who were giggling at Selphie's statement. Anne rolled her eyes and finished cutting the onion, before tossing it into a bowl. She turned to the tray on her left, and picked it up. She turned towards Kairi with the tray in her hands.

"Here Kairi…go take this veggie tray out there to the boys." Anne said, handing her adopted daughter the tray.

"Sure thing…_Mrs. Uchida._" Kairi said with a snicker, as she left the room.

"Don't you start!" Anne called out to her daughter, causing Selphie and Naminé to break out in laughter. Anne gave the duo a glare, causing Selphie and Naminé quickly turned away and tried to stifle their giggling. Anne sighed again and turned back towards her work.

Kairi made her way into the family room, where there was loud hooting and hollering going on. Tidus and Wakka were sitting on the couch watching a game of Blitzball. They were really getting into the game, and didn't pay attention to Kairi as she entered the room. This was actually the first time that they had seen Wakka since the Blitzball season began, and he was home for Thanksgiving. He wouldn't be there long, as the team had to leave for Atlantica the very next day for a match. Wakka was still the same, a large hulking figure, tanned, and reddish-orange hair that had tremendous lift in front. He wore a blue, long-sleeved Destiny City Sharks shirt, and a pair of white board shorts, with streaks of silver and blue that ran down the sides. A pair of white and blue shoes and a dark blue headband completed the ensemble.

It had been a long month for everyone, especially following the Halloween episode. Mako and his gang, were found guilty for assault, sexual assault, and the desecration of a world monument; and were forced to serve some jail time. They had gotten out, and were forced to pay damages and perform community service. Kairi had seen them around town, but they seemed apprehensive about testing her again, after the way that she had beat them down. Kairi had been labeled a local hero as a result of the incident, and thus was able to walk away with a little bit of community service, but nothing on her record. She had enjoyed her community service, which was working with younger kids.

Now however, she was just happy that everything was normal, and her life was happy; even though she still missed Sora greatly. Kairi walked in and put the tray down in front of the two. They looked up and gave her a smile.

"Thanks Kai!" Tidus said, and quickly turned his attention back to the game.

"Thanks ya?" Wakka's said in his slight island accent.

Kairi smiled and then walked back into the kitchen. Naminé grinned as she walked into the room.

"Still watching that game?" She asked.

"You know it!" Kairi responded.

"Wakka is really hoping that Tidus gets drafted by the Sharks after school." Selphie stated.

"He's not going to the university?" Anne asked.

"He has a really good chance of getting drafted very high if he goes straight into the WBL (Author's note: World Blitzball League), and he stands to make a lot of money." Selphie stated. "If he goes to college and gets hurt while playing there, he could lose a lot…it would be smarter to get the money now…and then do college later." She finished.

"So…where is he going to go?" Kairi asked.

"More importantly…where do you want him to go?" Naminé interjected.

Selphie thought about it for a bit.

"Well…I would like him to stay here, since I'm going to school here…but Destiny City is doing very well this year thanks to Wakka…so they could end up drafting very low. If Tidus does go into the draft, he would probably go to one of the worst teams…I know that Radiant Garden is heavily looking at him, as is Atlantica…" Selphie stated.

"What happens if he goes to one of those places?" Kairi asked.

Selphie sighed, knowing that this question was coming sooner or later.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there...but the distance will be a big problem…" She said with a hint of depression, before suddenly smiling.

"But why worry about the future? Today is a happy day!" Selphie exclaimed.

Kairi smiled and nodded at Selphie. Naminé looked up at the clock on the wall.

"So when is Riku arriving with the others?" She asked.

"Well…Twilight Town is a three hour flight by normal gummi ship, but with the ship that the King gave him it will only take him about an hour, so he should be back any minute now…" Anne stated, as she checked the turkey in the oven.

"I can't wait to see Olette!" Kairi said, anxious to see her friend.

"Me either!" Naminé squealed.

"Do you think that Hayner is going to call for another struggle tournament?" Selphie wondered aloud.

"I don't know." Kairi said, remembering how they would always seem to have them whenever they all got together prior to last summer.

"If he does, he might actually have a chance to win, since Sora's not here." Selphie said, before quickly clamping her mouth shut. She looked up with apologetic eyes towards Kairi and Naminé.

"I'm so sorry…I didn't mean too…" Selphie said before Kairi raised her hand to silence her.

"It's okay Selphie…" Kairi said, forcing a small smile.

At that moment, there was a loud slam from the front of the house that startled everyone. Within seconds a blond short-haired teenager stormed into the dining room that connected the kitchen and where the boys were watching television. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the intruder. He had a goatee that wrapped around his mouth, and he wore camouflage pants, and a long black shirt. He wore a thick grin on his face, as his eyes flashed with excitement. Suddenly, the teenager held his hand up to his mouth as if he was simulating talking into a microphone.

"LLLLLLET'S GET READY TO STRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" The teen screamed.

He looked around, but found only blank stares in return. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as the sound of footsteps came up behind him. A teenage girl now entered the room, wearing long jeans, and a light green hooded sweatshirt. She had brown hair, which went down just past her shoulders, and she wore a slightly annoyed look on her face.

"Hayner…" She said, addressing the blond-haired boy; "Do you have to do that every time?"

Hayner turned and grinned.

"You know it babe!" He said, and then walked over and said hello to Tidus and Wakka.

The girl meanwhile turned towards the kitchen with a big smile on her face.

"Kairi! Naminé! Selphie! I missed you guys sooo much!" She said as she raced into the kitchen, where the girls were able to shake off their initial shock, and welcome their long overdue friend.

"We missed you too Olette!" Kairi said squeezing her friend.

"Hey…where's Pence?" Naminé asked looking around.

"Did someone call my name?" asked a rotund teenager that entered the area. The teenager wore a pair of blue jeans and a wine and gold basketball jersey over a long-sleeved white shirt. His head band made it so that his hair fanned out like the top of a pineapple. He smiled at the girls as he entered the kitchen.

"Hey Pence!" Naminé greeted her friend.

"Hey guys…long time no see…" Pence said, as he seemed to be paying more attention to the food that was on the counter then his friends.

"Thinking about food again Pence?" Kairi said coyly, placing her hands on her hips.

Pence grinned. "You know it!" He then walked out of the kitchen and joined the rest of the guys in the living room.

"What's the score?" Riku asked as he suddenly appeared in the dining room.

"Twilight Town is up by two!" Hayner yelled out to Riku.

"Make that one…Radiant Garden just punched it in!" Pence called out merely seconds later, which was followed by an audible "Damn!" by Hayner.

"What did I say about being a guest Hayner!" Olette snapped from the other room.

"Sorry!!" Hayner called from the TV room.

Olette sighed, as the other girls giggled, and began to chat away. Riku began to walk over to where the guys were, but Anne held him back for a second.

"Riku…are your folks going to be joining us?" She asked.

"No…they're on vacation right now; we did our thanksgiving last week." He told her. "They send their best though!" He smiled, and joined the rest of the guys in the room.

"Ah…okay then." Anne said as she turned back into the kitchen.

The girls continued to talk about life and various things, while the guys watched the game in the other room. When it was halftime, the men all marched through the dining room and out the front door.

"What's going on?" Anne asked with confusion.

"Struggle tournament!" Pence exclaimed.

"Guess that answers that question…" Naminé said to Selphie, who giggled.

"What are the match-ups?" Kairi asked Hayner as he passed by.

"Well…since the reigning champion isn't here…Riku gets a bye into the final round. As for the four of us…I'm taking on Wakka and Pence will be facing Tidus in the first round. Then whoever wins those matches will face off for the right to challenge Riku. Winner of that match will be the new struggle champion!" Hayner said as he exited the room.

The girls looked at each other, and laughed. Anne smiled and turned to the girls.

"So who wins?" She asked.

"Riku." They all answered in unison.

"The only person that Riku ever lost to was Sora…so unless Hayner and Tidus got a lot better; Riku should take it." Kairi explained.

"He was training a lot, but I don't think that he's good enough yet…" Olette admitted.

"Well I guess we shall find out…" Anne said as she went back to cooking. The other girls soon followed suit.

The girls continued to cook, while the sounds of the struggle tournament raged on outside. After few minutes; the men came back inside, and plopped down on the couch, just as the second half was starting.

"Naminé, can you go and see what the results were?" Kairi asked her friend, who nodded and floated into the next room. She examined the combatants and other than Pence who looked to be out of breath, there were no apparent injuries to any of them.

"So, what were the results?" Naminé asked.

"Well, we got through the first round…" Riku started. "Tidus defeated Pence 156 to 44, and Hayner defeated Wakka 132 to 68…so after the game, we will have the semi-final match, which will be Hayner vs. Tidus." Riku told her.

"So Hayner and Tidus…okay…anything else?" Naminé asked.

"Yeah…we decided that since I get to sit out this time, I'm gonna face both Pence and Wakka, to earn the right to face the winner of Hayner/Tidus…and if I lose then Hayner/Tidus will be the championship match." Riku stated.

"Okay! Thanks!" Naminé said, as she left the room.

She floated back into the kitchen. The girls all turned towards the blonde-haired girl, awaiting the news. Naminé looked around, and in her best announcer voice declared the winners.

"By a score of 132 to 68…the winner is…HAYNER!!!" She said in a low voice.

The girls laughed and applauded, with Olette giving a small cheer. Naminé cleared her throat.

"By a score of 156 to 44…the winner is…TIDUS!!!" Naminé announced.

This time it was Selphie who gave off the small cheer.

"Following the game…two matches will take place… first up…the semi-final match will take place…HAYNER VS. TIDUS!!!" Naminé loudly yelled.

"Quiet down in there!" Hayner yelled from the other room, causing the girls to erupt in laughter.

She then cleared her throat and continued. "Also…since the long wait has been deemed an advantage for Riku, he will put his final spot on the line against BOTH Pence and Wakka…and should he lose…then Hayner vs. Tidus will be for the championship!" She finished.

Anne laughed to herself at her daughter's commentary.

"So ladies…" Anne began, "Who emerges from the Riku vs. Pence/Wakka fight?" Anne asked.

"Riku." They all said without hesitation.

"Okay…how about the other one?" She asked.

Both Selphie and Olette were quick to answer, and chose their respective boyfriends. They both gave each other a glare, as if to admonish the other for picking against their man. Naminé saw this and immediately whistled an old west standoff tune, causing both Anne and Kairi to burst out laughing. Selphie and Olette looked at them, and then slowly joined in. Anne looked at her daughters.

"What about you two?" She asked.

"Hmmm…I'll go with Hayner…due to the experience in struggle competitions." Kairi said.

Olette smirked at Selphie.

"I'll take Tidus, I think he is the more polished fighter…the only reason that he really ever lost in the previous tournaments was due to the fact that he faced Sora or Riku in the first round all the time." Naminé stated.

Selphie returned the smirk.

"Well…I guess it will be very interesting…" Anne said and went back to cooking.

_Back in the Dark Realm:  
_

Sora and Yamato were trying to fight off the ooze that was slowly working its way up towards them. They constantly had to slash at the tentacle like ooze, but they also were fighting off the dark balls that Ankoku had summoned to assault them from the air. Roxas sat and watched his friends battle off the assault.

"Come on guys!" Roxas shouted encouragingly.

Ankoku heard the cry, and turned towards Roxas. Roxas felt Ankoku's evil eyes looking at him and turned to face the sinister Ankoku.

"Ah…the nobody of Sora!" He said with a glint in his eye.

"Shut up you monster!" Roxas lashed out.

"Touché…but tell me…how will it feel to no longer exist in no more than twenty minutes when your friend Sora suffocates?" Ankoku sneered at Roxas.

Roxas's eyes grew wide.

"You no good…I'm gonna…" Roxas seethed, the rage overtaking his body. Ankoku saw this and feigned being afraid of Roxas.

"Oh no…the nobody is going to flail at me with air!" Ankoku said sarcastically. Roxas growled at him, which caused Ankoku to laugh even more.

"Well…if you didn't like that…then you will _love _this!" He howled.

Ankoku's eyes flashed red again and Roxas watched in shock as the strands of black ooze shot up and latched on to the arms and around the neck of both Sora and Yamato. They couldn't use their blades, and soon, they were having major difficulty breathing. Roxas watched in horror as the ooze began to slowly drag Sora and Yamato down into the depths. Roxas watched with a pained look. Sora and Yamato were down there suffocating, being dragged to their deaths, and there was nothing that he could do about it. Roxas screamed for Sora and Yamato to fight back, but there was no response, as by now they were both knocked out.

"SORA!!" Roxas cried as he saw his friend's head slip under the sea of slime.

Ankoku watched this scene, and laughed sadistically.

_Back in Destiny City:_

"He took them both out?" Anne said with some shock.

"Yeah it was unreal…Wakka and Pence were trying so hard to beat him, but they couldn't even catch up to him." Hayner said.

The girls had joined them outside, primarily to inform them that dinner was ready. They were gathered around the front door, listening to the results of the semi-final matches. Riku had obliterated Pence and Wakka by a score of 192 to 8. Kairi, Naminé, and Anne were all impressed by that result; but Selphie and Olette were at attention waiting to hear the result of the Tidus/Hayner match-up.

"Sooo?" Olette said, leaning in towards Hayner. "Did you win?"

Hayner looked away, with a slightly miffed expression. Selphie saw this and immediately ran up and gave Tidus a big kiss.

"I knew you could do it!" Selphie said.

Tidus looked away kinda sheepish, which confused Selphie greatly.

"You…you won right?" She asked.

"Not exactly…" Tidus admitted.

Olette then let out a cry of joy and gave Hayner a big kiss. Hayner smiled when she released.

"Thanks…" He said, grinning.

"Well you deserved it you won!" Olette said, her arms still draped around his neck.

"But…Hayner didn't win…" Pence said breaking the happy mood.

"What?" Selphie asked, confused.

"So wait…Hayner and Tidus didn't win? Then what happened?" Kairi asked.

"It was a draw ya? They finished with a hundred!" Wakka said finally.

"They both finished with 100 orbs a piece…" Riku added.

"So what does this mean…Riku is the champion by default?" Kairi asked.

"No! I don't want it to end that way..." Riku stated.

They all sat there for a minute while they thought about what to do. Finally; Pence cleared his throat, and they all turned to see what he had to say.

"How about a three-way match?" He offered.

"A what?" Hayner said.

"A three way match…" Pence said again.

"What does that mean?" Tidus asked.

"Well…" Pence began; "Since Hayner and Tidus tied, neither one technically lost. Now Riku doesn't want the title by default…but we can't pick Hayner over Tidus or vice-versa…" He continued.

He looked around to see everyone nodding along. He cleared his throat and continued.

"So… why don't you give each of them 100 orbs, let them fight it out, and who ever amongst the three has the most orbs at the end is the new struggle champion!" Pence explained.

"That's a great idea Pence!" Kairi clapped.

"I like it too ya!" Wakka added.

Riku, Hayner, and Tidus all nodded in agreement. Anne smiled at the decision.

"Well! Now that that's out of the way…how about you all come in to eat?" She said.

The group all agreed, and marched into the kitchen for the feast. However; Naminé remained outside. She looked out into the distance, and saw the island. She watched it in the slowly setting sun, as the wind picked up a tad, gently blowing her hair around. She remembered back to when Roxas had first asked her out on the island…

_Flashback…(Naminé's perspective)_

_He was giving Sora and Kairi a demonstration on how to struggle. She sat there watching him show the two the basic ideas of the game. Eventually after Sora and Kairi had gone off to practice, he came over and sat next to me…we looked out on the setting sun…the waves lapping against the beaches…everything was calm and peaceful. The sun was setting, and several stars had come out in the early evening. We could hear Kairi and Sora laughing off in the distance. I smiled at the sound._

"_I really hope that they get together…" I remember saying. _

"_Yeah…heh…me too…" He stammered back. _

_I was confused by his tone, I could see that something was wrong, like he wanted to tell me something, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Kairi had told me something that Sora had said…maybe this was it…I decided to press the issue… _

"_What's wrong Roxas?" I asked him as innocently as I could…but my heart was fluttering. I noticed that he was trembling a bit, and blushing too, something very uncharacteristic of him. I smiled and grabbed his hand. He looked up at me and our eyes met…_

"_Naminé…I have a question for you…" He finally stuttered out._

"_Sure! You can ask anything!" I said…_

"_No! Was I too quick there? Did he sense it? Shut up Naminé shut up! He's going to say something!" My mind battled back and forth…almost as nervous as he was. _

_However, the statement seemed to build up confidence in his face and body, and he turned to me with a determined look on his face. He grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes…my lip was now trembling too…_

"_This was it…" I thought to myself… _

"_Naminé…will you go out with me?" He finally choked out. _

_End Flashback…_

Naminé smiled as she remembered their date, which consisted of Sora and Kairi taking them to the movies. She remembered looking at him; and literally falling for him in that very theater. After Sora and Kairi had turned in…they snuck out for a walk, well float really, on the beach; where they had their first kiss under the stars…it was truly a magical evening.

All of these feelings and memories, along with the longing to see him again came washing out of her. She thought about his cheerful smile and his unparalleled zaniness; and felt the pain of knowing that he wasn't here. It hurt enough that he wasn't there… but it was amplified by the vow that she had made to herself. She wouldn't let her feelings for Roxas allow Kairi to feel bad about Sora.

"NAMINÉ!!!" Anne yelled from inside the house.

She sighed and realized that she had to go inside. She took one last look at the island, the sunset, and closed her eyes. She clasped her hands together and held them up to her chest.

"Roxas…if you can hear me…let me just tell you…I love you with all my heart…" She said, as she opened her eyes and saw a few seagulls floating in the sky.

"Come back soon…" She said silently.

She then turned around and went inside to join the rest of the party for dinner.

_Meanwhile…in the Realm of Darkness: _

Roxas had to do something quickly, or else Sora and Yamato were as good as dead. There was one problem…he had no way of doing anything. He frantically searched around, looking for anything that he might be able to use to help out his friends; but found nothing that he could use. Ankoku on the other hand was enjoying what he was seeing.

"Die Sora!!!" Ankoku screamed with glee. Roxas glared at him with unbridled rage.

"SHUT UP!!" Roxas screamed at Ankoku.

Ankoku merely laughed at Roxas, but didn't take his eyes off of the scene below. Roxas was starting to panic, not really knowing what to do.

"Damn! Why am I so useless!?" He thought to himself.

As he thought this; a strange feeling washed over him…it felt calming and warm and helped to soothe his rage. He leaned back his head, and allowed the feeling to wash over him. His vision started to become blurry, and fell out all together.

"Am…I…dying…?" He thought to himself.

Suddenly he heard a voice in his head:

"_Roxas…if you can hear me…let me just tell you…I love you with all my heart…come back soon…"_

"Naminé…?" Roxas thought.

He saw a faint glimmer of light in the darkness, but as soon as it was there, it vanished. Roxas suddenly felt a huge rush overtake him, as if a lightning bolt had just surged through his body. He slowly came back around, and saw that he was alright. He felt heavier for some reason, but was still floating in air. He opened his eyes, and looked down at his body. He was floored when he couldn't see through himself anymore. He quickly looked up at Ankoku and noticed that he was still watching what was going on below. Roxas used his hands and felt his body, for the first time in over two years.

"I...I'm…whole…" Roxas said in silent awe.

He felt another surge, this one was generated specifically in his right hand. He felt a heavy object form in his hand, and he had to hold on to carry it. He looked over to find a silver and black Keyblade in his hands. He stared at the blade, seemingly remembering that he had seen this blade before. He examined the blade which had a black rounded handle, which jutted out on both sides. The silver part of the blade stretched out, and then overlapped itself at the top, so that it looked like part of the number four. The blades were black and white spikes, and the resting in the center of the handle was the symbol of Organization XIII. He looked at the blade, as if he was enchanted with it. He then quickly snapped out of it and turned towards Ankoku, who seemed blissfully unaware of Roxas's recent transformation.

"Well…I don't know how this happened…but I might as well do something with it!" Roxas said to himself.

He charged at Ankoku, who still was unaware of him. By the time Ankoku heard Roxas approach, he was already on top of him, and let loose with a vertical slash, catching Ankoku on the right shoulder.

"Augh!" Ankoku screamed in pain, losing his concentration in the process.

The ooze that covered Sora and Yamato slowly dissipated, and the two of them lay there hacking and wheezing for breath. Roxas landed on the ground next to them, checking to make sure that they were alright. Several dark balls flew at the fallen Keyblade Masters, but were quickly dispelled by Roxas. Sora had regained some level of consciousness, and slowly got to his feet. He turned and saw Roxas standing there, poised with a Keyblade. He stood there with a shocked expression that was soon shared by Yamato once he had also come to.

"Roxas?" Sora asked in awe.

Roxas turned and smirked at Sora.

"Get ready Sora…I think he's mad now!" He said.

The three Keyblade warriors looked up at the now furious Ankoku. He raised his hands and more legions of heartless sprang up. The three looked at the army of heartless, but this time they were ready for it. Ankoku was less than pleased with the outcome of events.

"You shall pay dearly for that!!!" He roared as the heartless approached the trio.

_Meanwhile…Back in Destiny City: _

"Wow! You ladies definitely outdid yourselves!" Tidus exclaimed, as his eyes jumped from one dish to the next.

"Well thank you very much!" Anne said, as the rest of the girls smiled in appreciation at the kind words. The boys began to start passing around plates before Kairi cleared her throat which stopped them. They turned towards Kairi who got up apparently to say something.

"I thought that before we started dinner, we could say what we are thankful for…I mean…it is Thanksgiving…" She said quietly.

The rest of the group looked around at each other, and nodded, relenting to Kairi's request. Wakka stood up, and all eyes fixated on him. He cleared his throat.

"Well…I am probably most thankful for all of you ya? I'm also thankful the sport of Blitzball…and me family ya?" He said as he turned to Tidus who was seated next to him.

"Your turn brudda!" He said slapping him on the back.

Tidus in turn got up and repeated what Wakka had said, and then turned it over to Selphie, who repeated both Tidus and Wakka. On it went down the line: Olette was thankful for all her friends and family, Pence the same, Hayner was thankful for everything that made him happy in life, Anne was thankful for both of her daughters, and Riku gave thanks for every peaceful day that they have. Everyone turned now to Kairi, who slowly stood up to address the rest of the table. Kairi looked around at all the smiling faces; and slowly began to speak.

"I am greatly thankful…for all of you and all of our friends that are on other worlds that can't be here right now…" She began. "I would like to give a big thanks to my mother for taking care of me and all of the support that she has given me over the years…I know that it hasn't been easy…" She said with a smile towards Anne.

"But when is raising teenagers ever easy?" Anne said with a grin. This drew a laugh from everyone at the table. Kairi waited until she had regained her composure before she continued.

"I am thankful for both Riku and Naminé…you two have been my anchors for the past few months…and I don't know how I would survive with out you both…" She said, as both Riku and Naminé, who had tears in her eyes, gave an appreciative nod.

Kairi then looked down to the ground, before lifting her head back up to speak. There were tears forming in her eyes and her lip began to quiver. Soon, there were several people at the table with tears forming as well. Kairi finally opened her mouth to speak.

"There is one other person that I would like to thank…and I'm sure most of you know who I am talking about." Kairi said, as several people at the table nodded, wiping away tears.

"Without Sora…none of us would be having this dinner right now…or even be alive more than likely. Because of Sora's selfless sacrifice…we are allowed to still be together…and I would like to thank him for not only that…but for being the best friend that I ever had…and I hope that I will see him soon…" She said, with tears now flowing freely.

The rest of the people sat their in silence, reflecting on what Kairi had just stated. Finally Riku broke the silence by standing up and holding his glass aloft. He looked right at Kairi.

"To Sora…" He said softly.

"To Sora!" Wakka said as he stood up, raising his glass.

Anne, Selphie, Pence, Olette, and Hayner soon followed suit, each raising their glass for their absent friend. Naminé was the last to get up, and she had tears in her eyes as well. She struggled to speak, much like Kairi had done earlier.

"To Sora…and Roxas…" She said finally.

"To the stalker too!" Hayner said with a grin.

This drew a laugh from everyone at the table. The table repeated Naminé's toast, and then sat down to their dinner, which now had much more meaning than it did before.

_Meanwhile…Back in the Realm of Darkness: _

"What the hell is going on?" Ankoku screamed angrily.

A small golden aura had begun to form around the trio, causing the heartless to back off from them.

"What is this?" Yamato exclaimed as the aura got bigger.

"Roxas?" Sora asked his friend.

"Not a clue Sora…" Roxas said, staring at the fast growing aura.

The golden orb began to encompass many of the heartless, and upon touching them, reduced them to dust. Ankoku watched with horror as the orb grew bigger and was slowly approaching him.

"NO!" Ankoku screamed as it approached him.

He shielded himself from the flash, but the force knocked him back against a wall of bamboo, and he fell to the ground. He had also caught a glimpse of the flash, thus rendering him unable to see very well. Sora and Roxas were also forced to cover their eyes from the attack. When they opened them they looked out and saw all the heartless gone, and their attacker was knocked to the ground, stunned but still moving.

"We should finish him off!" Yamato cried out.

Sora quickly charged the fallen Ankoku, who was lying in front of the bamboo, rubbing his eyes furiously. Sora leapt high in the air and was poised to deliver the final blow to Ankoku. Ankoku squinted and could barely make out the shape of Sora in the air ready to attack. He raised his hand, and concentrated his energy. In a puff of smoke; Ankoku disappeared and Sora's Keyblade sunk into the wall of bamboo. He pulled out his Keyblade and looked around for his adversary but didn't see him. Sora sighed and turned back towards the rest of the party. He looked at Yamato who looked back at him with a concerned face.

"He's gone…but we should get out of here while we have some breathing room…" Sora said.

"So…mind telling me how you are whole…Rox…" Sora said as he turned towards his friend, but his voice slowly trailed off as he saw his friend, no longer whole, but the ghostly apparition that he had been for the past two years.

Roxas looked down at his hands in disbelief. Tears began to well in his eyes.

"No…I…I was whole again…" He muttered with a shell-shocked look on his face, not looking away from his hands.

Sora's heart went out to his friend, but realized that they needed to put some substantial distance between them and their aggressor.

"Come on! The way to the tree house is over this way…I'd bet that the access point is somewhere around there!" Sora said, urging his two companions along.

Yamato quickly followed Sora, but Roxas was still numb. Sora looked at his friend.

"Roxas…I know…but we need to get out of here!" Sora urged again.

Roxas finally looked up at him, and slowly nodded. However, he opted to head inside Sora rather than walk alongside him.

"I'm sorry Roxas…" Sora thought, knowing that Roxas would hear it; but was saddened when no response came.

"Come on Sora!" Yamato called out to his lagging companion.

Sora sighed and quickly raced out of the thicket, towards the hippo lagoon.

_Meanwhile…Back in Destiny City: _

"I AM THE CHAMPION…MY FRIENDS!!! AND I'LLLL KEEP ON FIGHTING…TILL THE END!!!!" Hayner sang at the top of lungs as he ran around the yard.

Olette was clapping, while several jaws hung wide open. Riku merely smiled at Hayner's celebration, while Tidus wore a miffed expression, obviously disappointed in himself. Everyone had expected Riku to take the title, but it was actually Hayner who snuck out with a victory. The final tally read: Hayner – 104 Riku – 103 and Tidus – 93. It was a fast paced match-up, with Tidus and Hayner teaming up to take out Riku, who actually lost quite a bit of orbs in the initial onslaught. Soon they turned their attention to each other, but as soon as Riku got back into the match, they went back to their strategy of a two on one assault. As the match approached the time limit, they were all deadlocked in orbs. As the final seconds ticked off, Hayner turned on Tidus and attacked him while his back was turned. He scooped up the fallen orbs, right before the clock expired. After the final tally was counted it was revealed that Hayner had defeated Riku by one orb.

"I told you that I would win!" Hayner said triumphantly.

"I still can't believe it ya?" Wakka said with disbelief.

"I guess it actually pays to play dirty…" Tidus said, looking rather upset with the result.

"What's that supposed to mean!? It was every man for himself!" Hayner protested.

"I'm saying that I don't think you could have beaten either Riku or myself without first agreeing to team up with me to take out Riku…only to turn your back on me when I wasn't looking!" Tidus said, lashing out at Hayner.

"Is that a fact!?" Hayner roared back, ready to go for one more round.

The two got nose to nose, before Riku and Wakka stepped in to separate the two.

"Well…I think that I would like to see that match…and the title defended as well…" Selphie said.

"Me too ya!" Wakka added.

"Unfortunately it doesn't appear that you are going to have a whole lot of time…" Naminé said, pointing to the sun, which was now just barely peeking out over the horizon.

"What if we settle this with a new tournament next month…when we all meet for Christmas?" Kairi proposed.

"That's fine with me!" Hayner said with a huff.

"Me too!" Tidus said.

"Fantastic!" Olette said cheerfully.

"Well then why don't you two boys shake hands, and then we shall see who the winner is next month?" Anne suggested from the porch.

Hayner and Tidus were hesitant but at the prodding of their girlfriends, they reluctantly shook hands, though neither one of them kept their eyes off of each other. The gang said their goodbyes, and departed the house. Naminé yawned and made her way back into the house. Riku was about to leave to give the Twilight Town gang a lift home, but Kairi stopped him for a second, once the others were out of earshot.

"Why did you hold back?" She asked him.

Riku looked at her with a stunned look on her face. He thought of something to say, but he could see that she wouldn't buy it.

"I wanted to let those two have their moment…" Riku started. "I knew I could beat them…but there was no point…I mean without Sora…there's no challenge…you know?" He finished.

Riku walked off, while Kairi smiled as she understood what Riku had meant with that last statement. Anne watched her daughter, and felt a small chill up her arm.

"Kairi…you should come in dearie, its starting to get very cold." She said.

Kairi watched her friends walk off into the distance, before turning around and heading into the house. Kairi walked to the kitchen and was going to help with the clean-up job, but Anne shooed her away.

"Go to bed sweetie…I can take it from here."

Kairi looked at her mom, and smiled.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

Anne nodded.

Kairi yawned and walked over to get a glass of water before scurrying off to bed. Anne began wrapping up some of the leftovers that were scattered on the table. She looked up at her daughter who was in the process of leaving the kitchen.

"Did you have fun today?" Anne asked her departing daughter.

Kairi turned and smiled at her mom.

"Yeah it was fun today…" She said, before she looked down at the ground.

She looked back up at her mom with a smile, but it was a noticeably sadder smile than before. "Though I wish that one more person could have been there…" She said.

Anne nodded understandingly to Kairi. She smiled as she looked at the piles of food in front of her.

"I know sweetie…I wish he was here too…there would be a lot less leftovers!" She said with a grin.

Kairi laughed at that statement, and knew that it was the truth. She walked over to Anne and wrapped her up in a hug. They pulled apart and Anne smiled at her daughter.

"I know it's hard…but be strong…and keep the faith, and someday he will come back…a good man always will…" Anne said.

Kairi smiled and nodded. She turned and began to walk up the stairs. Kairi peered over the banister and looked at her mother, and smiled.

"Thanks mom…goodnight!" She said.

"Goodnight angel…" Anne replied.

Kairi raced off to bed, while Anne continued to clean up. She took a look at her face in the mirror, noticing the wrinkles that had come with her age. She looked back up at the stairs and smiled.

"Now if only I could find a man like that…" She said to herself.

_Back in the Realm of Darkness:_

"There it is!" Sora exclaimed almost breathlessly, as they entered the tree house.

The access point sat in the center of the house, though it was by no means easy to get up there.

"Let's get out of here before that man comes back." Yamato suggested.

"Fine with me…how about you Roxas?" Sora said.

Roxas still gave no response; which caused Sora to sigh. Yamato sensed the gloom in his young partner.

"Relax Sora…he'll be fine…right now though we need to get out of here…" Yamato said to Sora, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Sora nodded in agreement and walked to the center of the room. He stepped into the access point, and Yamato was quick to follow him.

_Elsewhere…_

Ankoku sat seething as he rubbed his eyes. Slowly but surely his sight had returned to him, and he was livid at the missed opportunity.

"I was so close!!" He screamed to no one in particular.

He looked around, and tried to see if he could sense Sora in the area, but there was no trace of him. He narrowed his eyes, and his lip curled up into a sneer.

"I don't know how you did it Sora…but you will not get away with this…" He said through clenched teeth.

"I rule this realm…and it will be a cold day in hell before I fall to you again!" He roared, and with a wave of his hand, he disappeared into the far reaches of the darkness.

**End of Chapter 5**

_Well we have now set up a few interesting storylines, and giving a few more backstories as well. That's good, because I need a little break from writing now for some school work. I would guess that the next chapter will be up sometime next week or the week after. Until then…Happy V-Day!_


	7. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

_Whew…it's been a while since I posted a chapter, mostly because I have been very busy with school work and life's little nuisances. Still I was able to get this one up, and I'm not fully sure when I will have the next one up. This marks the halfway point in the story, as we'll have 6 more chapters to go…I head to Myrtle Beach next weekend and then I'll have Easter Break following that, so maybe I will be able to have chapter 7 done by then. _

_Ankoku, Yamato, and Anne are all mine, everyone else's are the characters of Square-Enix and Disney._

_Enjoy! _

**Chapter 6: The Best Time of the Year…For Some…**

A harsh winter wind had violently inserted itself over the denizens of Destiny City. The meteorologists were in a tizzy, saying that it might be the worst winter the island had faced in quite some time. The mere fact that Destiny City could experience their first fall in seven years had many seeking shelter, seeking out a cozy fire. This was true at the Uchida household where Kairi, Riku, Naminé, and all their friends had gathered to have their own Christmas bash. Anne was making cookies in the kitchen while the teenagers were in the living room having an animated discussion about their struggle tournament. The meeting was going great until Olette brought the discussion to a halt.

"I want to participate!" Olette said, standing up.

Olette was dressed for the cold, wearing tight jeans and a red hooded sweatshirt, complete with furry boots. Her hair was done up in a pony tail, and she wore a serious expression on her face. Hayner looked up from stared out at his girlfriend with wide eyed look. Hayner was wearing his traditional camouflage pants and long-sleeved black shirt. In fact everyone was staring at Olette, who looked back with a steadfast gaze towards the group. Even Wakka, who by this point was so trashed off of eggnog, was sober enough to hear the previous statement. Wakka was wearing his board shorts, and long-sleeved shirt.

"You wanna fight too ya?" Wakka asked.

Hayner didn't move his gaze from Olette's eyes.

"Wha…what?" Hayner finally choked out.

"I want to compete too!" Olette stated firmly.

"But…why?" Hayner stuttered.

"Every time we get together the guys go out and struggle and the girls are expected to cook and talk!" She cried. "I want to have some fun too!" Olette explained to her bewildered boyfriend.

Hayner looked for something to say, but couldn't find the words. Fortunately Tidus was right there to say something for him.

"But…you're a girl!" Tidus exclaimed, earning him "the look" from not only Olette but now Selphie as well.

Tidus cowered from the look and shrunk back into his seat. Tidus was wearing a Destiny City Sharks hoodie, in addition to some board shorts as well, seemingly not realizing that it was winter outside.

"I agree with Olette… why can't we play?" Selphie said placing her hands on her hips. She too was wearing a yellow hoodie and jeans. "We may be girls but we're pretty tough!" Selphie said standing up for her gender.

"But you might get hurt…" Hayner said softly.

"I don't care…I want to participate too!" Olette responded.

"Me too!" Selphie chimed in.

Tidus and Hayner looked at each other and went off to a corner. They conversed about it for a second, before turning back to the girls.

"Well girls…the thing is…we would like to let you play…" Tidus began.

"But we'd have an uneven number if we did…" Hayner finished quickly.

Tidus turned to him with an irritated look on his face. He dragged him back to the corner to converse some more.

"You dolt!" He whispered angrily to Hayner, "We had uneven numbers last time!"

"Hey shut it! You weren't doing anything either!" Hayner responded.

The girls were watching this scene and overheard this, and were not amused by the antics of their boyfriends.

"That's right…it would be no different than last time!" Selphie said.

"Yes…but last time was a different system!" Hayner said quickly, further burying himself into a hole.

"I'll play!" Kairi said, coming into the picture.

Everyone turned to see Kairi raising her hand to volunteer. Kairi was sitting in the corner of the room with a white hoodie and jeans on. Like Olette she had her hair in a pony tail, and was watching this battle with amusement.

"This way we can have eight people, even numbers!" Kairi said cheerfully.

Olette and Selphie turned back to Hayner with smirks on their faces. Hayner looked around at other faces, looking for some help, but no one had any. He sighed as he realized that he was trapped.

"Fine you three are in…" He said begrudgingly.

The girls let out a cheer. Riku smiled and looked over at Hayner. Riku was wearing a grey long sleeved shirt and ripped jeans as well.

"So what are the match-ups now?" He asked.

Hayner rubbed his goatee, and thought about it.

"Well…the first round…let's see…Kairi vs. Pence sounds good…Olette and Selphie can face off too…" He mused aloud.

This brought up some complaints amongst Selphie and Olette. They didn't like that they were getting paired up without being able to fight the men. While Pence was a man, the reason they stuck him with them was largely because he was a horrible strugglist. Hayner paid no attention and quickly went over the other two matches.

"Let's have Riku square off against Wakka, and Tidus and I will have our match…" Hayner said before Olette interrupted him.

"We want a chance to face the guys!" Olette said.

Hayner looked at her, a little peeved but relented.

"Fine we'll switch your match with my match…the winner of your match will now face the winner of Riku vs. Wakka!" Hayner stated.

"That's better!" Olette said triumphantly.

"Okay fine…" Hayner began. "The match-ups are now Kairi vs. Pence, Tidus vs. Myself on one side of the bracket, and Riku/Wakka and Olette/Selphie will make up the other side." Hayner finished, recapping the events.

Everyone seemed to understand what was going on. Hayner was the first to his feet, a grin on his face.

"Alright then! Let's start struggling!!" He yelled as he led the way outside.

_Back in the realm of Darkness…_

The intrepid Keyblade wielders continued their trek, this time in the confines of Radiant Garden. They had been searching for a few days for the access point, but had been unable to find it. High and low they searched, but the access point remained elusive to them. One thing that was strange is that they didn't have any heartless bothering them. Roxas had eventually begun showing himself again, but he was understandably more subdued. The three continued their search but slowly the gray day turned into the dark night. The trio stopped on the highest point of the city; overlooking the remains of Maleficent's old castle, which had been completely gutted and turned into the government headquarters; where Sora was not long ago for his trial. They took a seat and relaxed as Yamato looked up at the moon that was rising above the castle. He shivered as he felt a chill, something that was uncommon in this area. Sora felt the chill too.

"Well, we should probably go get some sort of firewood…I guess…" Sora said, rubbing his arms to keep warm.

"This is strange…it's actually cold…it's never been hot or cold here…" Yamato stated.

"Well, we should get some wood quickly…before it becomes too dark to see…" Roxas chimed in.

"Right…well…Sora collected it last night…so I'll go and grab some…" Yamato said as he got to his feet. "Which way to the city gates?" Yamato asked.

"I'll show ya…" Roxas said as he floated off.

Yamato followed him, while Sora stayed behind. Sora sighed as he watched the two of them fade from his sight. He looked out at the castle, which looked barren and ominous in this disturbed world. Sora gazed out at the rest of the city, taking it all in. While it looked just like Radiant Garden, it lacked the hustle and bustle that the city possessed… and without that there was nothing redeeming about the city. The desolation really hit hard for Sora. He thought about every other city or place that they could visit, and realized that they would be just as desolate as this place. He thought about Destiny Island…and how barren the place would look, but quickly tried to push that thought from his mind. His mind then drifted off to all of his friends, and more specifically: Kairi.

_Back in Destiny Island…_

"I…I can't believe that just happened…" Hayner said as sweat poured off his face.

Everyone else shared Hayner's sentiments but they were too stunned to say anything. Riku and Naminé were the only ones that wore a small smirk on their faces. Everyone had seen it but few scarcely believed it. Pence looked at the scorecard again with wide eyes.

"The…the final score…K…Kairi 140…Hayner…60…" He said again to the shocked crowd.

"Unreal…ya?" Wakka said, stunned and sober by the victory.

The rest of the tournament was rather anticlimactic. Riku easily dispatched the incoherent Wakka 197 – 3, and Kairi had defeated Pence, which again wasn't a big surprise. The score of that match was 185 – 15. Selphie had defeated Olette which wasn't shocking since Selphie had actually sparred against Sora and Riku in the past and Olette had very little training; in fact the only match up that garnered some surprise was the anticipated Tidus/Hayner match that ended in a 101-99 tally in favor of Hayner. With the semi-final match-ups being Hayner/Kairi and Riku/Selphie…most of the group anticipated a Hayner/Riku one on one final. Sure enough; Riku was able to defeat Selphie with relative ease, so Riku was a lock in the final. However, with the defeat of Hayner, they were now going to be treated to a Riku/Kairi final…which stunned everyone. Riku and Kairi were getting ready to participate in the finals, doing some routine stretches as Naminé approached them.

"Well…are you two ready?" Naminé asked them.

Both nodded and then took their places to start the match. They looked at each other, as a cold wind whipped up around the two. Riku seemed hesitant about fighting with Kairi, but the determined look in Kairi's eye caught him off guard. Kairi saw the hesitation in Riku's eyes.

"Don't go easy on me…" Kairi said sternly.

Riku simply stared back at her for a few seconds, as if he was contemplating her words. Slowly he nodded and adopted a fighting stance. Kairi did likewise and Naminé came into the middle of the two combatants. She looked at both of them to make sure that they were ready for this. The others watched with baited breath, not really sure what could happen now.

"I'll be perfectly honest guys…I don't know who's going to take this…" Hayner said quietly.

The others looked at him with surprise.

"Come on…she can't be that good can she?" Tidus said.

"Going against her…was like facing Sora or Riku…" Hayner said solemnly.

"Those two were responsible for most of her training…" Selphie added into the conversation.

"Still though…do you really think she got a chance against Riku?" Wakka asked.

"Who knows…she dominated Hayner…which leads me to believe that she can beat anyone here…with the exception of Riku…" Pence deduced.

"Height, reach, experience, speed, skill…Riku has the edge in every category." Tidus pointed out.

"Kairi is determined though…like she has something to prove…" Olette stated.

"I'll take Riku by forty." Tidus said bluntly.

"Riku by forty-five ya?" Wakka chimed in.

"Riku by thirty…" Pence stated.

"I gotta go with Riku too…I'll say by twenty." Selphie added.

"I'll take Riku by twenty too…" Olette finally stated.

Everyone looked to Hayner who continued to stare at Kairi…almost as if he was analyzing her. He felt a nudge on his shoulder which broke his train of thought. He looked up at Olette.

"Who's your pick?" She asked.

Hayner looked out towards both Kairi and Riku.

"Kairi by five…" He said without turning towards the rest of them. His friends looked at Hayner with shocked looks.

"Are you serious?" Tidus asked, bewildered by the thought.

Hayner said nothing, merely stared out at the two of them, waiting for the battle to start. Naminé finished with the formalities and turned towards the group.

"Are you both ready!?" She cried out, which drew everyone's attention off Hayner and towards the fight.

Both Kairi and Riku nodded.

"Okay…" Naminé said before taking a calming breath, no doubt nervous for her friends.

"3…" Naminé started the countdown, as the combatants tightened their stances.

"2…" she continued, as the rest of the friends were on the edge of their seats.

"1…" she finally said, as Kairi raised her struggle stick to eye level, and locked eyes with Riku.

"STRUGGLE!" Naminé cried, and with that the battle was underway!

_Back in the realm of Darkness…_

"Yamato there's some over here…" Roxas called out, as he wandered dejectedly through the forest that surrounded Radiant Garden.

"I see it lad…" Yamato said coming over to where Roxas was hovering.

Yamato called his Keyblade forth and promptly sliced up a few branches of the tree, neatly landing two separate piles of logs on the ground. Yamato grinned at Roxas, but Roxas wasn't even paying attention. Roxas was merely staring at the ground, not saying a word.

"Something on your mind lad?" Yamato asked, though he knew full well what was bothering Roxas.

"I…I was whole again…for the first time in a long time I was whole…" Roxas stammered out.

"I know lad…I know…" Yamato began to say, before Roxas turned around and glared at him.

"Do you? Do you really know what this is like? I'm useless!" Roxas fired back at Yamato.

"Every time someone has the idea to do something fun, such as go bowling or go on a bike ride, or eat something…all I can do is watch, or be a referee…I never get to do anything!" Roxas continued ranting and raving to Yamato, who merely sat there and listened to Roxas.

"You think I like being a scout? I want to mix it up! I want to fight back against the heartless! But what can I do without a blade?" Roxas asked Yamato, his lower lip quivering with anger.

"Not very much…" Yamato admitted.

Roxas lowered his head.

"But then for one brief moment…I was able to fight alongside you two…somehow someway I was whole again…" Roxas said quietly.

Yamato looked at Roxas, trying to find an answer.

"But…you were whole though…so what's to say that you can't become whole again?" Yamato asked.

Roxas looked up at Yamato with gloom.

"But how did I do it though? I mean…you two were in trouble…and I heard Naminé's voice…and then everything went dark…and when I woke up there was a Keyblade in my hand…" Roxas explained.

"…You heard Naminé's voice?" Yamato asked, slightly surprised.

"Yeah…" Roxas added.

Yamato just stared at him…not really saying anything. He had been telling Sora and Roxas that the voices they were hearing were just tricks being played on them by the darkness, much like the voices that he heard…but maybe…maybe he was wrong…and if he was wrong…than that meant…

"No…" Yamato said aloud shaking his head, trying to clear the horrible thoughts that sprang to his mind.

Roxas looked at him, somewhat confused by his outburst. Yamato caught his eyes and waved him off.

"Who knows Roxas…maybe some connection exists between your being whole and that Keyblade that you had…?" Yamato queried.

"What about the voice?" Roxas asked.

"I wouldn't trust anything in this realm like that…" Yamato quickly said.

Roxas looked at the ground.

"Don't worry lad…you did it once and you can do it again…once we get out of here…you will have all the time in the world to figure it out…and I know that Sora and I will do everything in our power to help you do that!" Yamato said with a smile.

Roxas thought about this, and then looked up at Yamato. A thin smile formed on Roxas's face.

"You're right…thanks Yamato…" Roxas said.

"No problem lad…now let's find some more firewood…and some fruit for dinner!" Yamato said as the two trekked further into the woods.

_Back on Destiny Island…_

"Wow…just…wow…" Tidus said, disbelieving what he had just witnessed.

Pence was busy counting up all the orbs, while Naminé was waiting for the final call. The others were replaying the fight over in their heads, trying to figure out who the winner was. The battle had been much closer than any of them had thought it would have been. Kairi and Riku were standing over in the corner, discussing the battle.

"You've improved Kai…" Riku told her.

"Thanks to your training…" Kairi responded, smiling at Riku. "Thanks for not going easy on me." Kairi said.

"Don't mention it…you actually gave me a workout…" Riku responded.

Pence finished up his calculations and then began conversing with Naminé. Everyone turned to them, as they approached with the final results. Naminé looked at the expectant faces and opened her mouth to speak.

"By the score of 105 to 95…the winner…and NEW struggle champion…is RIKU!" Naminé announced.

Everyone was stunned, but not because Riku won. The mere fact that Kairi had taken Riku to the limit was the main subject of discussion.

"That was amazing Kairi!" Olette squealed.

"You got the moves ya!" Wakka said.

Riku stood back and laughed at the attention that was being paid to Kairi. Eventually Anne came out to the front porch.

"I have hot cocoa in here for anyone that wants it." She called out.

"That sounds great…it's getting really cold out here…" Selphie said, through chattering teeth.

They made their way inside and took seats in the living room. Anne brought out the cocoa and they all sat there chatting about life, and other various things. This continued for about thirty minutes, with everything from fashion to movies being discussed by everyone. Wakka continued his spree of consuming "special" egg nog, and got to the point where he was dancing with a lampshade on his head. Kairi was laughing at this, but looked out the window and saw that Riku was out on the back porch staring out at the open sea. Kairi excused herself and went outside.

"Party is inside…" She said, as she looked at his face.

Kairi recoiled a bit when she saw a small tear forming in Riku's eye.

"Riku…are…are you crying?" Kairi asked.

Riku quickly brushed the tear away and turned to her.

"No…No…I was just thinking about…uh…onions!" Riku said, lying through his teeth.

"Riku…you can tell me what's wrong…" Kairi said in an effort to comfort him.

Riku looked at her, and Kairi gave a comforting smile. Riku opened his mouth to say something, but ended up closing his mouth and turning away.

"It's nothing Kairi…" Riku said.

"…Riku…I get the feeling that there's something you're not telling me…" Kairi began. "You've been acting strange ever since…" Kairi said before trailing off, as it was still hard for her to say it.

"Ever since Sora left…" Kairi said finally.

Riku just looked at her and said nothing.

"I do miss him…" He finally said.

"But that's not the real reason is it…?" Kairi asked.

Riku turned to her with a shocked look. Kairi's face remained unchanged as if she was waiting for Riku's response. Riku seemed to look for an answer that would convince her otherwise, but knew that he was out of luck when it came to Kairi.

"You're right Kai…but…I really don't feel like talking about it now…" Riku finally admitted to her.

Kairi looked at him, with some shock. Riku was usually quite forward with whatever was on his mind, so this had to really bother him.

"It's okay Riku…you can tell me whenever you are ready too." She said to him.

Riku gave a sad smile and walked back indoors. Kairi watched him leave and then turned back out to the open sea. She looked down at the rocks below, and felt something on the back of her neck. She brushed her hand across it, and felt a small wet drop of water. She felt another one and looked up into the sky. Kairi was surprised to see small white flurries of snow falling to the ground. From inside the house she could hear her friends yelling that the snow was falling, and heard them scamper out the front door to the front yard. Kairi stayed right where she was and watched the snow fall. Memories of the last snowfall came springing back to her...and with those memories…came ones of Sora…

_Destiny City…7 years ago…_

"_Come on Kairi! The snow is coming down!" He called to me from the front of my house._

"_I can't Sora…I'm sick…" I said, torn up over the fact that I wouldn't be able to go outside and play in all that snow._

"_Aw come on! You never know when it's gonna snow again!" He continued to call, seemingly trying everything in his power to get me to come outside._

_He was right…the last time it snowed was twenty years ago… _

"_I want to but I just can't!" I cried out to him. _

_Suddenly the door to my bedroom opened and my mother walked in. She peered out of the window and saw Sora standing down there. _

"_I'm sorry Sora, but she can't come outside until her fever is better." Mom told him. _

_Sora seemed to sense defeat and trudged away in the snow. Mom closed the window, and tucked me in tighter. _

"_I made some lunch…do you think you can eat it?" Mom asked me._

"_I guess so…" I replied, still bummed that I was unable to play outside. _

"_Okay…I'll be back up with some soup." Mom said, leaving the room._

_She returned a few minutes later with a bowl of chicken noodle soup, that I promptly ate. After that I took a nap for a few hours, only to be awaken by a giggling sound. I opened my eyes to see Sora standing by my bed, with his hands behind his back. _

"_SORA!" I shrieked in surprise. "What are you doing here!?" I asked him. _

"_Sheesh mellow out Kai! I just came to bring you a present!" He said, with a smile from ear to ear. _

"_Oh…well…you should be careful…I don't want you to get sick…" I said, as I felt myself blushing at my outburst. _

"_Nah don't worry about it!" Sora said, as he brought his hands back out in front of him. _

_He was holding a bowl in his hands, but it was what was inside the bowl that caused me to squeal with glee. _

"_Snow! You brought me some snow!" I cried. _

"_Yeah…I figured that if you can't come outside and enjoy it…I would bring it to you!" He said, with that big goofy grin of his. _

"_There wasn't a lot of it on the ground…but I collected as much as I could…" He explained, but I was too fascinated with the gift to care how much was in there. This was the first time that I had ever seen snow, or felt it in my hand._

_I looked up at him, and quickly gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He blushed a bit, before realizing what I had just done, and began furiously rubbing his cheek._

"_Why did you do that!?" He snapped. _

"_You said you didn't care about getting sick…" I said, slightly confused. _

"_Well…yeah...getting sick is one thing, but now you're talking cooties!" Sora said. _

_I rolled my eyes._

"_Boys…" I muttered under my breath. _

"_Well I just wanted to give you that…I have to go now…but we can hang out when you feel better!" Sora said, as he walked out of my room._

"_Okay! Bye Sora…and thanks again!" I called out after him. _

_I played with that snow for an hour before it finally began to melt. Mom went out and refilled the bowl for me, but by the time she got back with it, I had already fallen asleep. When I woke up the next day, the snow was melting, and two days later when I was finally able to go outside, the snow was gone. I never forgot the gift that Sora gave me that day…it was something that I will always carry with me…_

_End Flashback _

Kairi looked up into the sky as a flood of emotion came over her. The snow continued to fall as she heard the squeals of her friends from the front of the house. From a crack in the window, Kairi could hear the radio from inside the kitchen playing some music. The song ended, and a new one began, one that Kairi instantly recognized. The melody seemed to enhance her longing to be with Sora. Before long she too was singing along with the radio, as if she was singing to Sora.

_The lamp is burnin' low upon my table top  
The snow is softly fallin'  
The air is still within the silence of my room  
I hear your voice softly callin'_

If I could only have you near  
To breathe a sigh or two  
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love  
Upon this winter night with you

The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead  
My glass is almost empty  
I read again between the lines upon the page  
The words of love you sent me…

Back in the realm of darkness: 

Sora was still staring out into the distance at the castle that he had clashed with Maleficent all those years ago. He was deep in concentration, thinking about all that he had to go through, and how much he just wanted to go home. A small drop broke his concentration. He looked down at his wrist, and saw a small droplet of water. He stared at it wondering where it came from. He looked up, and something stung his eye, causing him to look away and rub his eyes. When he was able to see again, he looked out at the castle and was shocked to see white snow falling to the ground. He was stunned.

"How is this possible?" Sora wondered.

Suddenly he heard a beautiful voice, singing a song that he remembered from home. He recognized the voice instantly…it was Kairi's. Sora listened to her song, and looked out over the bailey and watched the snow fall to the ground as the song continued. It was if she was singing to him, and she was right there beside him…

_If I could know within my heart  
That you were lonely too  
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love  
Upon this winter night with you_

The fire is dying now, my lamp is growing dim  
The shades of night are liftin'  
The mornin' light steals across my windowpane  
Where webs of snow are driftin'  


Over on the other side of the area, Roxas and Yamato were staring in awe at the falling snow.

"This has never happened before…" Yamato cried out.

Roxas was meanwhile laughing at the falling snow and Yamato's reaction to it. Yamato was grabbing at the snow and trying to catch it on his tongue. It was the first sign of the outside world that he had seen in a long time. While he was excited about the snow, he also realized that this was no apparition either. He looked over at Roxas, who seemed to be enjoying the falling snow. He eyed him closely.

"Something is different with those two…" He thought to himself.

They kept claiming to hear the voices of their friends, and now this change in weather prompted even more suspicion about them. Perhaps there was some connection between the two and their friends that transcended the plane from the world of light to this place. A new thought, a ray of hope seemed to come over Yamato at that point, and a smile formed over his face as he gazed up at the falling snow.

"Maybe…just maybe…they really can get us out of this place…" He said to himself.

_Back in Destiny City: _

The song was winding down, as Kairi finished up.

_If I could only have you near  
To breathe a sigh or two  
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love  
And to be once again with with you  
To be once again with with you…_

She stared out into the abyss, not saying nor doing anything. The snow continued to fall, and the sound of her mother interrupted her concentration.

"Kairi…your friends are in the front yard…why don't you go and spend time with them?" Anne asked her daughter.

Kairi turned to her mother.

"I will…I just want to stay out here just a bit longer…" Kairi said, slightly in a trance.

Anne nodded, and then headed back inside. Kairi turned back around and continued to sit there and watch the falling snow. Thoughts of Sora continued to flow through her mind, and the longing to see him grew and grew. Finally she turned around and began to head back inside. Just as she was in the doorway, Kairi turned back out and looked at the sky.

"Merry Christmas Sora…wherever you are…" She said quietly, and then headed back inside to join her friends.

_Back in the realm of darkness:_

Sora listened to the song winding down, and then suddenly vanished. He stared out across the bailey towards the castle, not saying anything.

"Kairi…" He thought to himself.

He thought about various people back home that he couldn't wait to see, and what he would do when he saw all of them, more specifically Kairi.

"I'll be home soon Kai…I promise…" Sora said. "And when I do get home…I'll tell you what I've wanted to tell you for a long time…" Sora said as he watched the snow continue to fall to the ground below.

**End of Chapter 6**

_The song in this chapter was Sarah McLachlan's "Song for a Winter's Night". Well that's chapter 6, kind of an intermission chapter really, the second part will be a lot more action packed, and will give us some big storylines for the final installment. So keep reading and watching guys!_

_Later!_


	8. A Gray Day in February

_Wow I polished this off in record time…this only took a day! I figured I would go ahead and knock out this chapter since I will be going on vacation for spring break next week. I might start chapter 8, but I won't have it up until after I get back from the beach. _

_A bit of a note: I decided to shorten this story slightly, but not too much just one chapter. I will say that the 3__rd__ and final installment of the Chronicles of Darkness is shaping up to be one hell of a story. I want it to be around 30 chapters and it is going to be great. _

_Ankoku and Yamato are mine, everyone else is Square or Disney._

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 7: A Gray Day in February **

Winter continued to roll right along in Destiny City, though the snow that fell in December didn't come with it. The New Year had started off fairly uneventful for the Destiny City gang, aside from a small party that they held, and January had turned into February. With the new month came a new holiday as well…Valentine's Day. All around the town there were decorations for the holiday and restaurants were piling up with reservations. Everyone seemed to have a plan for the night, except one…

"So…you aren't doing anything at all tonight?" Kairi asked the silent male to her right.

The wind whipped around the duo as they walked up to the schoolhouse. Other students were already entering the school, as the two approached.

"No…" Riku said slowly.

"You should come out with all of us tonight…Tidus and Selphie are going out by themselves for dinner, but then we are all going to get together and go to the big dance at town square tonight!" Kairi said cheerfully.

Riku continued to look down at the ground, and didn't pay attention to the comment that Kairi had just made. Kairi looked at him, and took from his silence that he wasn't keen on the idea. She could tell again that something was bothering him, but decided not to query Riku about it. The two continued their stroll towards the schoolhouse, and up into the building. They heard the bell ring, and they parted for class. Riku watched Kairi walk down the opposite hall and round the corner. Once she was out of sight, he then turned back around and proceeded to head out of the school. He walked back down the dirt path, and back towards town. He passed several shops that all had valentine's decorations strewn about their windows. Riku sighed and pushed on. He continued down the street, before he came to a halt in front of the candy store. He looked at the window at the various sweets that were in the window. Memories came flooding back to Riku's brain, and they involved…her…

_I was working late into the night on our raft. Sora had gone home just an hour earlier, since he had to be up earlier for something Kairi wanted to do with him. _

"_She always wants to do things with him…why not me?" I wondered to myself, as I cut another piece of wood. _

"_I mean…I'm the genius that came up with the idea to get to the other worlds, I do the most work, why not me?" I thought to myself, bitter at my friend. _

_I pushed those thoughts from my mind, focusing on the goal. I had been consumed with leaving the island ever since those visits from the strange hooded man. I was fascinated by his stories of the different worlds, and the opportunities that would come with it. With this as my motivation I continued to work well into the night. At one point though, I heard someone approaching me and my raft. I whirled around, ready to defend the raft, but was stunned to find a raven-haired girl in a white sun-dress. She shimmered in the full moon, and I recognized her immediately as a friend from school. _

"_Hey Selene…" I said. "What are you doing out here so late?" _

_She looked at me, and seemed to blush a little bit. I noticed that she was holding something in her hand, but I paid it little mind. I turned around and went back to work on my raft. I paid no attention to her, even as I heard her slowly approach me. _

"_You should get some sleep…you've been out working for a while…" Selene said softly. _

"_I have too…the raft needs to be finished." I said bluntly, turning to her and wiping some sweat away from my eyes. _

_She looked down at the ground, avoiding my eyes and continued to blush. _

"_You still haven't told me why you are here…" I said, bluntly again. _

_She looked down at the bag that she was holding in her hands. She held it out towards me, and I simply looked at it. _

"_I…I brought you some candy…and some things to eat…you were out here…so I figured you might be hungry…" She stammered. _

_I looked at her and down at the bag and took it in my hands. I looked inside and saw some candy and a few rice balls. I looked back up at her and saw her wearing a shy, but somewhat happy expression. _

"_Thanks…" I mumbled to her, more out of courtesy than caring. I really wanted to get back to work on the raft. _

"_I'm going to be out here a bit longer…" I said trying to get her to leave._

"_W…would you like some company?" She stammered out, keeping her head down. _

_I wanted to tell her to leave, but there was something inside of me that fought that urge. I really wanted to work on the raft, but there was something inside that just couldn't say no to her. _

"_Sure…I guess…" I said, before turning back to work on the raft. _

_She took a seat nearby on the sand, and sat there for as long as I did. At first I was annoyed, but soon I began to welcome her company. It became a routine thing for us, as I would work late and she would sit there and talk to me. The bond between us would grow…until…_

"…that day…" Riku finished aloud.

He looked ahead and saw the door open in the candy shop. A blonde-haired boy walked out of the shop, and Riku immediately recognized him as the captain of the Blitzball team: Tidus. Tidus looked over and saw Riku looking at him. He smiled and walked up to him, a box of sweets in his hands.

"Decided to skip school today?" Tidus asked.

Riku shook the unpleasant thoughts from his mind and forced a smile for his friend.

"Yeah…didn't feel like going…" Riku said quickly, and then glanced down at the chocolates. "Bit old-fashioned don't you think?" He said.

Tidus laughed.

"She likes em a lot…so why not…" Tidus said with a shrug.

Riku gave a small laugh.

"So…have you two talked about the draft?" Riku asked.

Tidus suddenly looked very uncomfortable at the mention of the WBL Draft.

"We…discussed it a little last night…and I told her what my agent has been telling me…" Tidus began.

"Word on the street is you're projected to go #1 to the Radiant Garden Warriors." Riku stated.

"That's what it looks like…but she wants to stay here for school…she got a full ride to Destiny Island University…" Tidus explained.

"Tough deal…" Riku said.

"Yeah…the only thing that could happen here is if Destiny Island makes a trade to get the #1 pick…" Tidus said.

"Yeah…but I doubt that…they finished runner-up this year to the champs…so it would cost a lot to trade up." Riku stated.

"Yeah…plus they added some new free agents to go with Wakka…so they're content with their pick." Tidus said.

"Yeah…Wakka won the MVP this year too didn't he?" Riku asked.

"Yup…1st person since the league formed to win Rookie of the Year one year, and then MVP his second year." Tidus stated.

"Good deal." Riku said.

"But I figure that we have two more months before the draft, so we should spend as much time together, before we have to part…" Tidus said glumly.

Tidus then perked up with a smile on his face.

"So… are you coming out with us tonight?" Tidus asked suddenly.

"Probably not…I'm not really feeling it…" Riku said.

"This coming from the biggest playboy I know?" Tidus asked with some shock.

"Why do you and Wakka keep calling me that?" Riku questioned.

"Hmm let's see…how many dates did Riku go on last year…was it fifty?" Tidus pondered, placing his hand on his chin.

"Yeah…but…those weren't really dates…" Riku said, trying to shrug off Tidus's comment.

"No those were definitely dates, and I know for a fact that many of them wanted to continue dating you…but you never called them back…" Tidus said.

"I never gave them any promises of a relationship, and I never asked them out either." Riku said, defending himself.

"True…" Tidus said.

"None of them…were right for me…" Riku admitted.

"Jeez…you practically dated everyone on this island…I mean…except for Kairi of course…" Tidus said slowly.

Riku gave him a stern glare.

"Not happening…" Riku said, giving Tidus almost a warning tone.

"Yeah…I figured as much…well don't worry about it…I'm sure the right one will come along." Tidus said, as he began to walk off. "I gotta roll, but I will catch you later!"

"Later…" Riku said, with Tidus's words echoing in his ears.

He continued to walk through town, thinking about what he said.

"The right one…" He thought to himself.

"Did I already have it…?"

_In the Realm of Darkness: _

"I must say…this is taking some getting used too…" Yamato said, trying desperately to move his flippers to swim.

"You'll get the hang of it…" Sora said, using his flipper to propel himself forward.

The trio was navigating the underwater world of Atlantica but was having no such luck in locating the access point. Sora had reverted to his half man half dolphin form, and Yamato had been turned into a weird walrus/man hybrid. He had the body and flippers of a walrus, but the upper portion was that of a man, though he had no arms. Roxas had to resort to staying in Sora's mind for the duration of their venture underwater.

"Do you think it could be on land?" Roxas asked from inside Sora's head.

"That's a good idea…I mean we've checked everywhere down here…" Sora said to himself.

"Hey Yamato! Head towards the surface!" Sora called out, and then propelled himself up towards the surface.

Yamato followed and the two of them crashed through the water, and waded around looking at the coastline. Roxas came out of Sora's head and floated just above the water's surface. He glanced around the coastline but saw nothing. He did notice how dark and gloomy everything looked.

"Well…this makes par for the course…" He said.

"Tell me about it…I almost want to see a heartless now…at least we'd see a color other than gray…" Sora added.

"Don't worry lads…we'll be back soon enough…" Yamato chimed in.

"How long have we been here now?" Sora asked.

"I have our count at a month and 6 days…" Roxas said.

"Unreal…I wonder how much time has past in the real world…" Sora wondered.

"I dunno… but the sooner we get back the better…I don't mean to sound shallow or anything…but I'd still like a young Naminé to get back too." Roxas added with a grin.

"Amen to that!" Sora said with a grin as well.

"Well…I think I can help speed up the process lads!" Yamato said suddenly.

Roxas and Sora turned to Yamato, and saw what he was talking about. There on a rock in the middle of the ocean was the access point! Sora and Roxas looked at each other, a grin forming over their faces.

"Last one to the access point has to collect firewood for the week!" Sora shouted, and quickly swam towards the access point with Roxas trailing.

By the time Yamato realized what was going on, they were already halfway there. He quickly tried to go as fast as he can, but he couldn't catch up. Sora and Roxas made it to the rock and were laughing as Yamato brought up the rear.

"Looks like you get the firewood!" Sora said with a smirk.

Yamato gave a thin smile, which confused Sora. Yamato hopped up on the rock.

"Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I do believe you said first one to the access point…and seeing as its right here…bye!" Yamato said quickly as he touched the access point and disappeared.

Sora and Roxas looked at each other.

"He's right!" Roxas said quickly as he floated and touched the access point.

Sora sat in the water for a second trying to digest what had just happened.

"Aw crap…" Sora muttered as he realized that his plan had just backfired on him.

He leapt up and touched the access point, vanishing to the next world. Little did any of them know that floating in the air high above them, Ankoku was sitting there watching them. A sadistic grin formed on his face.

"That's right…keep working your way through this realm…I will be waiting for you in the end." He sneered.

"My vengeance will be glorious Keyblade Master…and there isn't a damn thing that you can do to stop it!" He cackled with glee, before vanishing into a dark portal.

_Back in Destiny City:_

The sun was beginning to set, and Riku's odyssey had led him to the island. He walked along the coast, clutching something in his left hand. He walked with a purpose, kicking up sand as he trekked across the sandy beach. He walked up towards the large wooded area, spying the remnants of their various tree fortifications that were strewn about the island. He paid little attention to them, instead choosing to focus on the moss covered hole embedded in the side of the rock. Riku brushed away the moss, and ducked down into the hole. The tunnel was much smaller than Riku had remembered…although it had been close to three and a half years since he had been back to their secret spot. Riku navigated the small tunnel and came to an opening. He stood in the small area, and took in the sights. He noticed the drawings that Sora and he had done, paying particular attention to the faded drawing of Sora and Kairi sharing a Paopou fruit. He looked around at the place, but as he did memories of that fateful night…

"_Come on Selene I wanna show you something!" Riku called out to the raven haired girl trailing him and looking nervously at the sky._

"_Riku…it looks like there is a bad storm coming…we should get home…" Selene called out._

"_Stop worrying!" He said as he approached the small boat that lead out to Destiny Island._

_Riku clambered on to the boat and held out his hand for Selene to grasp to come on board. Selene looked nervously at the small boat, as her worn, white, sundress flapped up in the wind._

"_I don't know Riku…" She said quietly._

"_Come on Selene…is this a face you can't trust?" He said smiling at her._

_She blushed a little bit, and slowly grabbed his hand. As she did; her heart fluttered a little bit. Riku led her into the boat, and began rowing towards the island. It was a little cramped, but it didn't matter to Selene. Selene looked nervously at the black clouds that were forming above the island. She looked back at Riku, who was busy rowing towards the island. She blushed again as he looked at her and flashed a grin. She had always liked Riku, ever since she had moved to Destiny City two years ago and met him that day in school. She was an outcast, never fully accepted, and often ridiculed by those who took her shyness and quiet nature as a sign of arrogance. She met Riku outside of the school one day while she was getting bullied by a group of students. One of the girls in the group knocked her to the ground, and the guys with them were busy destroying her books. Riku apparently saw this going on and stood up for her, fighting off the other boys, and scaring off the girls. She began spending a lot more time with Riku, and since they were in similar classes they were able to talk often. While shy at first, she found Riku easy to talk to and very comforting. She had met Sora once or twice, and thought that he was nice, but she was still scared about him, given the nature of the other students. She had never met the other girl that Riku had talked about named Kairi, as they had no classes and she was usually in another part of the school with Sora. There was a bit of jealously towards Kairi for Selene, simply by the way that Riku spoke of her. She never went outside, opting instead to stay inside and read books. She never hung out with Sora, Riku, and Kairi when they were together either, not because of anything wrong with them, merely because of her experiences with the other students at the school. The only time that she came outside was if Riku was alone. Riku looked at her, seemingly lost in thought, and looking down into her lap and blushing._

"_Are you okay?" Riku asked._

"_F…fine…" She stuttered._

"_You know…" Riku began. "You should really consider joining us on the journey to other worlds…" Riku said slowly._

_She looked at him with a light pink glow on her face._

"_I…I don't know…" She said quietly._

"_Come on! You wouldn't be the only girl…Kairi is coming, and she's really nice!" He said._

"_But…why would you want to leave…? It's so peaceful here…" She asked._

"_Are you kidding me?" Riku said bewildered._

"_It's boring here, and don't forget…those kids treat you like garbage!" Riku stated._

_Selene looked down at the ground._

"_We're not like them…you'd be accepted with us." He stated in a more comforting tone._

_She looked into his eyes. She wanted to say yes, but she was afraid…afraid that Sora and Kairi would treat her as an outcast, and who knows; they might turn Riku against her._

"_I don't know…" She said as she turned away._

_Riku watched her and was about to say something, but decided against it as he saw the shoreline fast approaching. He quickly prepared for the ship to dock, and quickly jumped out and dragged the ship to shore. The wind had really begun to pick up, and suddenly rain began to fall. There was even the sound of thunder sound off into the distance. He looked at Selene, who quickly began covering her head from the falling rain. Riku quickly grabbed her hand and raced across the beach, kicking up wet sand as they went along. Riku raced towards his and Sora's secret spot, with Selene in tow. He quickly brushed the leaves that covered it out of the way and darted into the cave. He panted and looked back at Selene, who was wringing out her dress. Riku gazed at her with a hint of admiration; he had never noticed how beautiful she could be, even when she wasn't looking her best. Riku quickly snapped out of it, and remembered that the raft was out in this storm! He raced out of the room, but stopped at the entrance and turned back to Selene._

"_Stay here, I need to check on the raft, I'll be right back." He said as he raced out of the room._

_He raced outside braving the weather in order to get to the raft that the three of them had worked so long and so hard on. He raced down the beach as the wind tried to force him back, and the rain continued to pound on him. He finally came to where the raft was, but was stunned to find it gone. He looked out in the choppy waters, and saw hunks of broken wood and the remnants of a sail being tossed around by the unforgiving sea._

"_Damnit!" Riku cried out in anguish._

_All his hopes and dreams of finding another world vanished upon viewing the tattered remains of the raft. The wind picked up and lightning cracked in the night sky. Riku quickly tore himself away from the sight of the broken raft, and ran back towards the secret spot. As he approached the cave he heard Selene scream. He quickly darted inside the cave. Selene stood there surrounded by shadowy ball with small black creatures with yellow eyes dancing around._

"_SELENE!" Riku cried out, as he lunged towards her._

_Before Riku could get to her, a figure in a brown robe appeared in front of him._

"_Do not fear the darkness…embrace it…and it will lead you to what you want most…" The figure said mysteriously._

"_Wha…what do you mean?" Riku asked as he looked from the hooded figure to Selene._

"_The darkness holds many possibilities for you…you could have power…fortune…seek new worlds…" The figure continued._

"_RIKU! Please help!" Selene cried as the shadow began to slowly cover her._

"…_new worlds…?" Riku said, seemingly intrigued by the idea._

"_Riku!" Selene pleaded desperately._

"_The door is open…this world has been connected to the other worlds…Use this knowledge well…" The figure said as he disappeared._

_The strange creatures quietly left the cave, out into the island, leaving Riku and Selene alone. Riku pondered what the figure had said, before another cry from Selene interrupted his concentration._

"_Riku!! Help me!!" She cried with tears beginning to flow._

_Riku looked at her with excited eyes._

"_Selene…relax…just accept it! You can have all the power that you've ever wanted! You can travel to new worlds with me!" He said with a grin._

"_No! This isn't what I want Riku! This isn't what I want!" She screamed._

"_Just relax…and don't fear the darkness…" Riku said. "I'll see you soon…" He finished as he walked out of the cave._

"_RIKU!!! RIKU!!!!" Selene cried out after him, as the darkness slowly but surely swallowed her._

_Riku meanwhile had walked over towards his area, where the Paopou tree was, and gazed out at the sea, and thought about all the possibilities that lay open to him now. He glanced up and saw a gigantic black sphere hanging in sky. He eyed the sphere with wonder and amazement for what seemed like forever, when all of a sudden he heard footsteps racing up towards him. He turned around and saw Sora running up to him._

"_Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" Sora called out frantically._

"_The door has opened..." Riku said serenely._

"_What?" Sora asked, bewildered by his friend's response._

"_The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!" Riku explained with a hint of glee._

"_What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!" Sora screamed._

"_Kairi's coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" Riku said to Sora._

_Sora looked at his friend, who seemed not quite right._

"_Riku!" He called out desperately to his friend._

_Just then two shadowy spheres engulfed the two of them, much as they had done to Selene just a few minutes earlier. Riku held out his hand for Sora to grab, but Sora was reluctant to take it. Riku shrugged and allowed himself to go within the darkness, towards realizing his dreams, and discovering new worlds. Selene was probably already there, and Sora and Kairi would no doubt follow him; he just felt it to be true._

Riku thought about this…this horrible atrocity that he had committed. He had let the darkness win, and in one fell swoop it had changed his life forever. While Sora and Kairi had forgiven him…he could not forgive himself for the pain and suffering that he had caused to them. More importantly, he could never apologize to Selene for what he did to her. All of this swirled in Riku's mind as he looked around the room. He brought forth his left arm, and held out his hand. In the palm of his hand was a single, white, rose. He knelt down and set the rose down in the center of the room, and stared at it for several minutes. Finally he stood up, and quietly left the secret spot. When he emerged from the spot, he saw that the sun was just peaking over the water. He walked over to a rock and sat on it. He gazed out to sea, thinking about all that he had pondered that day. Suddenly, a voice interrupted his concentration.

"RIKU!"

Riku turned to his right to see Kairi running up towards him, with Naminé floating behind.

"Kairi?" Riku said with some small shock.

Kairi slowed down to a trot, and panted a bit for breath.

"I've been looking for you all day! Where have you been!?" Kairi cried in between breaths.

"I…I've been around…" Riku said, staring off into the horizon.

"Well I just got a message! Donald and Daisy are about to have their baby! King Mickey wanted us to come ASAP!" Kairi said hurriedly.

Riku looked at her, before the words sunk in. He quickly leapt off the beach and began walking towards the hangar that they had set up for his ship. Kairi and Naminé followed behind.

"I called your phone about thirty times, Tidus said he saw you this morning and that you skipped school…is everything okay?" Kairi asked with a touch of concern.

"Yeah…I'm fine…" Riku said, his voice trailing off.

"You're lying to me again Riku…" Kairi said; a bit peeved at him.

Riku whirled around, with a glare that put the fear of god in Kairi.

"WILL YOU GET OFF MY BACK!!?" Riku snarled at her.

Kairi and Naminé simply stared at Riku, not sure of what to say. Riku's eyes slowly softened.

"I'm sorry guys…it's been a rough day…I just…I just don't want to talk about it…" He said.

Kairi was about to say something, but Naminé stepped in front and silenced her.

"That's fine Riku…if you don't feel like telling us that's fine…" She started, looking at Kairi with a convincing glare.

Kairi looked at her, and then slowly nodded.

"Thanks guys…" Riku said.

"Alright!" Naminé said clapping her hands together. "Let's go see the baby!"

Kairi smiled.

"Yeah let's go!" She exclaimed.

The three friends continued to walk towards the hangar, talking about what gender the baby would be, and other things like that. However, there was the always lingering shadow for Kairi over what was bothering Riku.

**End of Chapter 7**

_I really can't wait to start on the 3__rd__ Story, and with Ankoku getting ready for a master plan, this story will be reaching the climax pretty soon. _

_Hope you guys enjoyed it! I'll see you in a few weeks!_

_Later!_


	9. Prelude of Darkness

_Whew its good to have a nice week away from the snow and blizzards, and get down to the beach for a week of fun, golf, and relaxation. I got most of this done and decided to finish it once I returned. _

_We are entering the tail end of this story, but you will see some very important things begin to appear in this story that will have an effect in the 3__rd__ part that I will be starting in May or June. Man hard to believe that Summer is almost here… Anyways I hope to have this done in April or early May, but with the school year ending and work starting I can't guarantee it. But I will do my best!_

_Yamato, Anne, and Ankoku are mine, everyone else is Square-Enix or Disney._

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 8: Prelude to Darkness **

"I'm getting sick of this fruit…" Sora grumbled, taking another bite of the grayish pear-shaped object that he held in his hand.

"At least you can actually eat…" Roxas responded, floating around in the air. 

"Just be thankful you don't have to collect the firewood anymore." Yamato said, his weathered face flickering in the glow of the campfire. 

"Whatever…I was robbed." Sora said in a huff. 

Yamato and Roxas both laughed at Sora's comment. It had been a few weeks since they had left Atlantica and had since covered many different worlds. 

"So…where are we now?" Yamato asked, in between bites of food. 

"I think we are right on the outskirts of Twilight Town…" Sora said. 

"Hmm…I'm not familiar with that world…" Yamato said. 

"Not surprising…" Roxas said. 

Yamato didn't pay any mind to this. Sora looked down at Yamato's Keyblade which was sunk into the ground. He noticed the curve of it, and how it seemed to resemble King Mickey's. 

"That's an interesting blade…" Sora said, staring in the direction of the golden Keyblade. 

Yamato looked down and grasped his blade. He held it up and looked at it closely. 

"This is a special blade…much like yours is…" Yamato said, cryptically. "It was said in my home world that those who wielded the blade…were warriors chosen by light…and thus most fit to rule…" He continued. 

"So…were you a king or something?" Roxas asked, now interested in the conversation. 

Yamato smiled. 

"Yes…I was the ruler of my home world…until I took up the call to fight for the safety of the worlds…after that I was trapped here." Yamato stated. 

"That's awesome!" Roxas said, before suddenly bowing to Yamato. 

Yamato gave a small chuckle at this. 

"Get up Roxas, you lads don't need to bow to me…we are equals." Yamato said. 

"So what was your world called?" Roxas asked.

"My home world was known as Animus…have either of you been there?" Yamato asked. 

Sora and Roxas's expressions both changed in an instant. They looked at each other with shocked expressions, but quickly realized that Yamato was staring at them.

"No! No we've never been there…what was it like?" Sora asked quickly.

"Animus was a beautiful place…and one that was founded on a basis of law and reason." Yamato began. "We placed great emphasis on bravery and valor, and valued those that were skilled in the ways of the sword. Those who were chosen by destiny to wield the Keyblade were held in great reverence." He finished. 

"So your society made those who wielded the Keyblade rulers?" Sora asked. 

"Yes…although it was very rare for one to wield the blade to actually come around. We had an intricate system in place, this allowed for operations to continue while we waited for the next king…it was a period of two hundred years between the last king and I." Yamato explained. 

"I'm surprised they gave it up so easily…" Roxas stated. 

"Most did…our society is very traditional…but there were a few that didn't feel like turning control over to me." Yamato explained.

"Wow…I wonder if there is any relation between you and King Mickey…" Sora said aloud. 

Roxas looked at Sora with a stunned look. Sora realized what he had just said, and also wore a horrified expression. Yamato looked over towards him. 

"King…Mickey? Is that the new ruler of Animus?" Yamato asked. 

Sora and Roxas stared back at him with dumb expressions. They looked at each other with uneasy glanced, which Yamato noticed. 

"What's the matter?" Yamato said, suddenly growing very serious. 

"Er…I'm not familiar with that name…maybe they changed it?" Roxas said quickly, but in such a way that Yamato could see that he was telling him a lie. 

"That's not true…something happened to my world didn't it?" Yamato said his expression growing dark. 

Sora and Roxas continued to sit there, with uneasy expressions on their faces. Yamato grew very solemn, as if he knew that something bad had happened. 

"What happened to Animus…?" He asked stoically. 

Roxas and Sora eyed each other, hoping that the other would feel more comfortable in discussing this with Yamato. Yamato watched this before he violently flung his Keyblade violently to the ground. 

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY WORLD?" Yamato snarled, the fire in his eyes piercing a hole through Roxas and Sora. 

The two looked at each other, and Sora slowly spoke to the angry Keyblade Master. 

"There…there was a…war…about 150 years after the sorcerer was banished…" Sora stammered out quickly.

Roxas looked at Sora with disbelief, trying to figure out what he was saying, but noticed that Yamato was looking at him. Roxas began to stammer. 

"Animus was destroyed…but there was nothing you could have done about it…" Roxas finished quickly. "New civilizations sprang up from the ashes of the fallen civilizations." Roxas said. 

"There was nothing that could have been done; there was no Keyblade master, and even if you hadn't been banished. You would have been long dead." Sora concluded. 

Yamato sat back down, the words churning through his mind. He looked back up at the two. 

"What of the people of Animus? Were they all killed?" He asked slowly.

"The war took a heavy toll on the population of most cities…many people were killed in the fighting…Animus was all but destroyed…" Roxas said quickly. 

Yamato grew very quiet. Images and memories of his home world came flooding back to him. Yamato looked at Sora and Roxas and got to his feet. He walked off and left the campsite. 

Sora rose up to follow him, but Roxas was quick to stop him.

"Why did you say that?" Roxas asked his friend.

"What was I supposed to do? Tell him the truth?" Sora fired back in defense. 

"You lied to him about his home!" Roxas angrily said. 

"I do seem to remember that you were saying things too!" Sora snapped back. 

Roxas grew quiet realizing that Sora was in fact right. 

"Look…I didn't want to tell him that, but its better that he believes this happened rather than what really did nothing bad can happen from this. It will be easier for him to live with this lie rather than the truth." Sora explained.

"I hope you're right…" Roxas said to Sora. 

Meanwhile, Yamato had walked over through an area of trees and into a clearing that overlooked a cliff. Yamato sat down at the edge, and played the memories over and over in his mind. He sat there for a good hour before he heard some rustling in the woods behind him. Sora emerged from the woods and approached the Keyblade master. 

"It's getting late…maybe you should come get some sleep; Roxas already has." Sora said gently.

Yamato didn't even turn to face him.

"I can't believe that my world is gone…" Yamato stated. 

Sora sighed and walked over next to him. It was an awkward situation to say the least, as it had previously been the older and wiser Yamato that had tried to comfort him during their journey. 

"There was nothing that you could do…" Sora started.

"You would have been long gone by the time the war broke out…and everyone that you cared about wouldn't have been around to suffer during that terrible time." Sora said, lying through his teeth. 

Yamato turned and gave a sad smile. 

"Thank you Sora…you are indeed a good friend." Yamato said. 

Sora winced at this, but smiled for Yamato. 

"I'm going to stay out here for a little while longer…" Yamato explained and then turned back to the abyss that he was staring at. 

Sora nodded. 

"Good night Yamato." He said as he got up to leave.

Sora headed back through the trees towards the campsite, his mind tossing at the guilt of lying to a friend, but also with the knowledge that he had made it easier for Yamato to deal with the tragedy. Yamato meanwhile turned back out towards the barren wasteland…and continued to ponder these recent developments. Sora meanwhile made his way back to camp and tried to go to sleep. He stayed up half the night, worrying about Yamato and dealing with the guilt before finally drifting off to sleep. 

_The Next Morning:_

"SORA WAKE UP!" Roxas roared, waking Sora from his slumber in a harsh manner.

"What! What!" A half dazed Sora said, darting his eyes around, trying to gain some focus to his vision. 

"It's morning and Yamato is gone!" Roxas said urgently.

"What?" Sora said, finally focusing on Roxas. 

"I woke up earlier, and I noticed that Yamato wasn't back here at the campsite!" Roxas said.

"Did you check over by the cliff?" Sora asked.

Roxas nodded affirmatively.

"Not one trace of him." Roxas stated.

"That's not good…" Sora said, getting to his feet. 

"Do you think he went into town?" Roxas asked.

"If we are lucky…" Sora said ominously. 

"I wish we never mentioned his home world…or the lie that we told him…" Roxas said muttering. 

Sora gave him an irritated glance. 

"Nevermind what we said, just focus on finding him!" He snapped. 

"Let's head into town and see if we can't find him." Roxas suggested, and slightly surprised by Sora's response. 

"Okay…" Sora said as the two raced off towards town, and the guilt in Sora slowly began to build.

_Back in Destiny City: _

"So are you glad to be done?" Naminé asked her friend. 

Kairi was lying on the sand, twirling her graduation cap in her hand. The waves crashed against the beach, and the sun peeked out from the clouds, forcing her to throw her sunglasses back on. She looked at Naminé who was lying out next to her. 

"I guess…I mean it's not like I'm going anywhere…" Kairi responded. 

"That's true…at least it will be fun next year having Selphie as a roommate!" Naminé said.

"Yeah…though I still need to decide on a major…" Kairi said to herself. 

Kairi turned her attention back towards the open sea, as a cool spring breeze gently tossed her hair. She had just completed her graduation ceremony a few hours ago, and after all the pageantry decided to visit the beach. She made a stop at Sora's monument and was now relaxing on the beach. She heard some noise off in the distance, and turned to see Selphie and Wakka coming over towards her. She smiled at her approaching friends, and they returned the gesture. Selphie and Tidus had broken up mutually a few weeks earlier, after Tidus was drafted #1 by Radiant Garden. They had agreed to be friends, and to write each other. Tidus had not been there for graduation, and instead received his by mail. 

"Here they are!" Selphie said with a smile. 

"I thought you guys were going to that graduation party?" Naminé asked their friends.

"We did for a bit, but we decided to spend some time with you, since we don't know what's going to happen after all this ya?" Wakka responded. 

"With college and Tidus's move to Radiant Garden, and Wakka's season starting up soon; who knows when we will be able to get back together like this." Selphie added.

"That's right…Tidus is the millionaire now!" Kairi added with a giggle. 

Wakka and Selphie laughed. 

"Tidus told me that his agent is still working out the contract…so it's not for sure…" Selphie explained. 

"Well…I know that the last brudda to get taken #1 has a big mansion on Atlantica…" Wakka added. 

"Yeah…well…he hopefully won't go too overboard…" Naminé said with a shrug. 

"He'll miss my graduation party…" Kairi said, with a little sadness. 

"When is it?" Selphie asked. 

"Probably in June…middle or end of the month…" Kairi said causally. 

"Mini-camps don't start up till July so he might be able to ya?" Wakka informed her.

"Cool…I'll send him the invite…" Kairi responded.

"Yeah just ask me for the address sometime." Selphie said. 

"So where's Riku?" Selphie asked changing the subject. 

"King Mickey called him to Disney Castle to discuss some recent activity in the World that Never Was." Kairi explained. 

"It's not Maleficent is it?" Selphie asked, suddenly becoming fearful.

"I don't think so…nor do I think it's anything more than a few stray heartless, nothing that Riku couldn't handle." Kairi responded reassuringly. 

"Have you heard anything from Twilight Town ya?" Wakka asked. 

Kairi and Naminé shook their head.

"Nothing as of late…which is strange for Olette…" Kairi stated. 

"What about Donald and Daisy…how is the baby doing?" Selphie asked. 

"Fine from all recent news…I'm sure Riku will have more when he comes back…" Kairi said. 

The friends continued to chat away for hours, talking about the future and what was going to happen. They started talking about Sora and Roxas, wondering if they were ever going to return, to which both Kairi and Naminé were steadfast in their refusal to give up. Eventually the day would turn into night, and they would go their separate ways. Naminé and Kairi remained on the beach, while the other two went off to visit with some other friends. Eventually Riku's ship came into view and landed over in the hangar that Riku had constructed following the war with Ankoku and Maleficent. Kairi and Naminé went over and met the returning Keyblade warrior, who seemed weary from the trip. 

"What's new in Disney Castle?" Kairi asked Riku.

"Donald and Daisy are fine, and so is the baby if that's what you're asking…" Riku stated. 

"That's good to hear…" Kairi said, as she turned and started walking back towards town with Riku and Naminé. 

"What's happening in the World that Never Was?" Naminé asked.

"We're not sure…we had reports of several people wearing hoods active in the area…I went with Goofy to check it out…but we found nothing out of the sorts…still we are going to have our scouts keeping tabs on the area." Riku explained.

"Think it could be remnants of the Organization?" Kairi asked. 

"Doubtful…Maleficent would be the other option, but I don't think that she's in any condition to launch an assault." Riku began. "She has to know by now that Sora isn't here, and logically I would think that she would have launched an attack by now…" He finished. 

"Hmm…" Kairi mumbled to herself.

"I wouldn't worry about it…if its anything serious…I'm confidant that King Mickey and I can take care of it…" Riku said trying to reassure the two.

"So how was graduation?" Riku said, changing to a lighter subject. 

"Kinda boring actually…" Kairi said. 

"That's too bad…but I do have some good news." Riku stated in response. "King Mickey and Queen Minnie are holding a big party…some Disney Castle…something or other ball…" Riku said, trying to remember the name. 

He produced a white card, and gave it to Kairi. Kairi looked at the card and read it aloud. 

"King Mickey and Queen Minnie of the Castle of Disney cordially invite Princess Kairi Uchida and Lady Naminé Uchida to attend the Silver Celestial Ball, to promote unity among the various worlds." Kairi read. 

"How exciting!" Naminé squealed.

"Yeah I got an invite too, and King Mickey said that he was inviting a bunch of different people from other worlds including Hayner, Pence, and Olette. He also said that Tidus, Selphie and Wakka could attend as well…Anne too." Riku stated. 

"This is good…at least it's not the same time as my graduation party…" Kairi said.

"So I guess this means that you are going to be in a suit." Kairi said looking at Riku.

Riku seemed stunned by this.

"It says that?" He said, his face turning white. 

"It says formal attire only here at the bottom." Kairi said, showing him the small font. 

"Aw man…" Riku said. 

"Don't worry Riku we'll find you a suit!" Naminé said cheerfully. 

"And I'll need a dress!" Kairi stated. 

The three continued to chat as they walked back towards town. As they got into town they eventually went their separate ways for the night. Kairi and Naminé walked back to their house. Naminé seemed to be thinking about something, and Kairi noticed this.

"What's the matter?" She asked her friend. 

"They've been gone a long time…" Naminé said quietly.

Kairi sighed.

"I know…I'm reminded everyday." Kairi admitted. 

"Thanksgiving…Christmas…Valentine's Day…" Naminé said, reflecting on all the days that Sora and Roxas were absent.

"And we don't know when they are coming back…" Kairi added. 

"Two weeks will be the 10 month anniversary of their disappearance." Naminé stated.

"We can make a trip out to the monument." Kairi suggested. 

"That would be nice…we can talk to them…" Naminé said. 

"Hopefully we can hear someone talk back…" Kairi added. 

Naminé smiled at this.

"I can't think of anything else I would rather hear." Naminé stated. 

The two girls approached their house, and went in for the night. They told Anne, who was watching some television in the great room, all about the ball and she seemed very excited to go as well. The girls said goodnight and then went off to bed. 

_Back in the Dark Realm: _

"Did you find him?" Roxas asked, approaching Sora in the center of the town. 

Sora shook his head. 

"No I searched the entire west side of town, there's no sign of him." Sora said. 

"Where do you think he went?" Roxas asked.

"I have no idea…do you think that he went to the old manor?" Sora stated.

"I didn't check over there…and I think that's the only place left to look…" Roxas stated. 

"Well come on let's go!" Sora said. 

"This is all our fault…" Roxas lamented.

"Will you just shut up about it?" Sora snapped.

Roxas merely looked at his friend with a sad expression. Sora could sense the guilt that Roxas was feeling, and felt the guilt that was building up in himself as well. 

"Come on…the sooner we find him the better." Sora said as he started towards the woods. 

Roxas would hesitate but soon followed his friend. The two made their way back through town and over towards the hole in the wall that lead to the vast forest that surrounded Twilight Town. They worked their way through the dark forest, until the came upon the manor that both Sora and Roxas had visited so many times before. They approached the gate, but found it unopened. 

"Should we go in?" Roxas asked his friend. 

"I guess so…I mean we've looked everywhere else." Sora responded. 

Almost immediately as Sora said that, heartless popped up around them. Sora quickly drew his Keyblade out and sprang into action taking out the various shadows with relative ease. He stopped and looked at Roxas with a grin.

"Piece of cake!" Sora said.

Roxas didn't respond, instead he merely looked with a stunned look at something past Sora. Sora whipped around to come face to face with an army of heartless. He quickly turned to go the other way, but was stopped dead in his tracks by another battalion of heartless. Slowly the heartless encircled Sora, who stood ready to fight the onslaught, despite the fact that he was hopelessly out-numbered. Sora immediately made a bee-line for the gate, and the heartless that were in front of the gate. He took out a huge number of them as he fought his way through to the other side. He sustained several slashes across his face and abdomen. Still he was able to get through to the other side, and made a sprint for the mansion doors. Roxas followed close behind, as Sora pulled open the large doors, and once he was inside quickly shut the door behind them. He rested his hand on the door, panting as he felt the cuts on his face. He then checked his abdomen and winced as he touched the deep cuts that he had on his abdomen. He held his hand over some of the cuts, and a green aura appeared from his hand. The cuts on his abdomen slowly healed. 

"Man…they just keep coming out of nowhere…" Sora said, looking at the blood now on his hands and wiping it off on his gear. 

"But at least that's over with…right?" Sora asked Roxas.

"Ummm…not exactly…" Roxas said. 

Sora still looked at the door and sighed. 

"There is a whole army of them behind me isn't there?" Sora asked. 

"Yes…but that's not the problem…" Roxas said ominously. 

Sora slowly turned around.

"Then what is the prob…lem…" Sora said, trailing off as he gazed upon what Roxas was talking about. 

There was the usual army of Heartless that lined up on the steps, and to the left and right of the main staircase that sat in the room. But the thing that caught both Sora and Roxas's attention was the figure that stood at the base of the steps. Sora and Roxas both recognized him right away.

"Yamato?" Sora said with shock.

He looked like him but the yellow eyes and the blackish purple aura that emanated from his body made him look far more sinister, than the sage-like figure that they had traveled with for the last few weeks. Yamato gave a sick smile, and brandished his Keyblade. Sora read the writing on the wall and quickly brandished his own Keyblade. Sora got down into a fighting stance, but dropped to one knee, wincing as his abdomen throbbed. Roxas bent down next to him as Sora slowly got to his feet. Sora noticed that his vision started to get a little blurry, but shook his head and got back into his stance.

"You're hurt…" Roxas said slowly. 

"Nah…I just slipped…" Sora said lying through his teeth. 

"You can't fight…" Roxas said again. 

Sora looked up at Roxas, and then over to Yamato, who seemed to have an even bigger grin on his face, as if he knew that Sora was hurt. Sora turned back to Roxas, and slowly got to his feet. He winced again as he crouched back down into a fighting stance. Yamato's grin grew even bigger.

"I don't think I have much of a choice Roxas…" Sora said grimly.

**End of Chapter 8**

_Okay things will be getting interesting here in the final 4 chapters of this story. I hope that you will all stay tuned. I have Easter break coming up starting Thursday so hopefully I can knock off another chapter over that._

_Until then…Later!_


	10. Darkness Incarnate

Sorry for the long delay guys, I've been swamped getting ready for graduation and for life after school

_Sorry for the long delay guys, I've been swamped getting ready for graduation and for life after school. Also I had several breaks in there, a condo to close on, and a warcraft addiction to feed. Also baseball season is finally kicking off so I will be spending some time with that. _

_Now I do have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I decided that I am going to extend this story to 16 chapters so you will have more stuff to look forward too. The bad news is that most of the chapters are going to be rather short. Same length overall, actually a little bit more on the overall length this way. This way I can build up to different things rather than having 4 chapters with tons of words that are a trial to read. _

_Anyways here is chapter 9, and I would start paying attention in this and future chapters as there will be plenty of stuff that will eventually be in the sequel. So…yeah…read it lol._

_I own Ankoku, Selene, Anne, and Yamato; everyone else is owned by Square-Enix and Disney._

_Here it is Chapter 9! _

**Chapter 9: Darkness Incarnate **

Sora continued to stare at the figure that stood before him. He felt the cut along his gut, and felt it ache at the slightest touch. Yamato looked at the pain that came across Sora's face and grinned. Sora continued to stare at his friend, wondering if it was the lie that he had told him that had caused his body to be possessed. He continued to process these thoughts, but Yamato was quick to break his concentration by lunging forth with his blade at the ready. Sora quickly readied himself, despite the best efforts of his abdomen to become a distraction.

The battle started out fast and furious with Yamato completely on the offensive. He seemed to have a game plan, as he immediately targeted Sora's injured abdomen. All of Yamato's offensive attacks all were designed to inflict damage on that specific area. He attempted a few direct attacks on the area but Sora was quick to block those attacks. After those failed, Yamato seemed to target different points of Sora's body, causing Sora to stretch his body out in different ways. By doing this, Sora was causing considerable pain to his abdomen, so while Yamato wasn't making any contact with his attacks, he was still doing damage to Sora.

The battle continued to wage on, with Sora trying harder and harder to block Yamato's various attacks. Yamato was relentless; working over the various parts of Sora's body in an effort to further inflame the abdomen. As the battle continued to progress, Sora began to feel weaker. It became harder and harder to keep with the attacks, and he was barely getting his blocks up. His vision had started to become bothersome as well. He was having difficulty seeing the attack patterns that Yamato was using. Yamato seemed to realize that Sora was fading, and seemed to increase his assault, throwing out his previous strategy and unleashed with a barrage of cuts and slices with his golden blade. Sora had continued difficulty with dodging the blows, and got very sloppy. Soon, Yamato was able to expose an opening and caught Sora with another slice, this time carving a nice cut into Sora's side. Sora shrieked in pain at the attack, and Yamato bounced back to admire his handiwork. He charged at Sora again, who was busy trying to adjust his eyesight. He finally cleared his head enough to quickly duck Yamato's lunge and was able to connect with an elbow to the back of Yamato's head, sending him sprawling.

Sora used this breather to cast Cure on himself. A soft, green, glow enveloped Sora, and the cut on his side closed up. Sora's vision slowly returned, but it was still a bit blurry. Sora quickly checked out his stomach but was stunned to see that the cut and the pain was still there.

"Something's not right here…" Sora thought to himself. "Cure isn't working on this cut or my vision…"

A primal roar interrupted Sora's thought process. He turned and saw Yamato charging at him. Sora quickly readied himself for the incoming attack. Yamato's attacks became far more erratic, and Sora did have an easier time blocking the attacks. Sora was actually able to score a couple blows on offense, which really only seemed to infuriate Yamato further. Over time Sora's vision slowly began to go out again. Sora began to waver, and Yamato seemed to pick up on it again. Yamato reverted back to his original plan of attacking a body part. Sora again began to have difficulty seeing Yamato's attacks. Yamato laid into Sora with a nice combo that Sora was just barely able to block, and then stunned Sora by a flip over him, and knocked him down with a kick to the back of Sora's knee. This brought Sora down to one knee, and Yamato quickly took a slice at Sora's neck, which Sora was just able to duck down and avoid. Yamato quickly retreated, only to charge as Sora got to his feet. Sora prepared for the strike as he watched Yamato raise his blade to strike. Sora then watched as Yamato got close to him, but rather than striking him; Yamato ducked down and worked his way behind Sora. Sora's eyes grew wide as he realized that Yamato had just given him a feint! Yamato quickly cracked Sora in the back of the knee again, sending him down to the ground.

Yamato then took his right hand and slugged Sora right in the face. Sora's face began to throb and the right side began to puff up. Sora's vision was severely impaired, but he staggered to his feet. He felt a solid shot to his gut, which caused agonizing pain to Sora. Yamato's sadistic grin emerged as he realized that he had Sora right where he wanted him. Yamato's demeanor became much cockier following this. He ignored his Keyblade and went to work with his fists and employing his boots as well. Sora's eyesight continued to get worse, and it was almost to the point that Yamato was just a blur. Sora's face was covered in crimson from several gashes that had opened up above his eyes. His face was puffy as well, and his abdomen was killing him from the boots that Yamato had delivered to that area. Roxas was watching this happen with horror. He cringed every time that Sora took a blow. He was itching to help Sora fight, and was trying to get himself to turn whole again. No matter what Roxas said or did however, he couldn't get it done.

"Come on Sora!" Roxas thought to himself, urging his friend on.

Yamato continued to work over Sora, before seemingly getting tired of this battle. Sora was on his knees dazed from the assault. Yamato raised his blade to finish off Sora. Sora was too out of sorts to really notice what was going on. Yamato let out a primal scream and brought the blade down. All Sora heard was Roxas's loud screaming, and then he heard a primal cry of anguish. For a second Sora had to make sure that it wasn't his own scream. He looked up and through the blur was able to see a figure standing over him, and another on the ground. The figure leaned over to Sora, which caused Sora to back up a bit out of fear.

"Relax Sora…you've been infected with pure darkness…and I'm going to heal you…" Yamato's soothing voice said.

"Yamato!? Back off! You just tried to kill me!!" Sora screamed, inching away.

"Sora that wasn't me…it was a fake…and its dead now…" Yamato said.

"It's okay Sora! It's really Yamato…it was another clone!" Roxas called out.

Sora seemed to calm down. Yamato walked over to him and held out his Keyblade. He closed his eyes and a golden aura surrounded him. The aura transferred from Yamato over to Sora.

"Stay still Sora…I need to heal you…" Yamato said.

Sora saw a golden flash, which forced him to rub his eyes. He felt a strange warm feeling, as if his innards were being cleansed. When he opened his eyes he saw Yamato standing there with a smile on his face. Sora looked puzzled, until he looked past him and saw a glob of black ooze bubbling nearby.

"It was a fake…" Sora said in a low voice, realizing that Roxas and Yamato were correct.

He tried to stand up, but he was still in pain. He muttered under his breath and then tried to cure himself again. This time he was able to fully heal the cuts on his gut, and shrink the puffiness in his face. He stood up and turned towards the smiling Yamato. Roxas floated over to Yamato with a grin on his face.

"Can't you two stay out of trouble for one night?" Yamato asked with a hearty chuckle.

"We were trying to find out where you went!" Roxas cried out.

"We searched all over…and when we got here we were assaulted…" Sora said stoically, weary from the battle.

"I know…I was actually looking around for the next access point. Yamato explained. "I was actually able to locate the point in this very mansion. I went back to wrest you two awake, but I found you two gone. I went searching for you when I was attacked by some heartless. I fought them off, and continued to search…looks like I made it here back in time." Yamato said.

"Yeah…I thought I was a goner…thanks…but how did you do it?" Sora asked.

"Well I took him out with an attack, and since it was just a being of pure darkness, one hit from my blade reduced it to its element." Yamato stated.

"Okay…but what I meant was…" Sora began.

"How did you return Sora's health to normal?" Roxas asked, interrupting Sora.

Yamato held up his Keyblade.

"This blade has a special power…it has the ability to cast a special light to combat darkness…it cured the darkness that was infecting you…but I can't use it very often, as it takes a lot of energy to do it. It was incredibly powerful in the real world, but here all it seems to do is cure infections…probably due to the fact that in this realm darkness in enhanced ten fold…still I guess the healing effect is good enough for you!" Yamato said with a smile.

"I saw King Mickey's blade do that to Riku back in the courtroom…" Sora thought to himself. Roxas and Yamato were still having their conversation and didn't look at Sora.

"I'll say…but I'm glad you're alright! I was afraid that was you…given the state that you might have been in…" Roxas added.

Yes…I did feel longing and sadness for Animus…but it was a situation in which there was nothing I could do…" He said with a touch of sadness. "But at least I'm glad that none of my family or friends were harmed as a result of all that…but thank you for telling me about that…I'm sure it took some courage to tell me about the fate of my world." Yamato said.

Roxas and Sora exchanged grim looks as he mentioned that.

"It's funny you should mention Animus…" A voice called out from behind the trio.

The three of them whirled around and looked to the direction of where the voice came from. There floating with a smug grin on his face was Ankoku. The ruthless madman was floating with his arms crossed, wearing his regular garb and his trademark sinister grin. Sora gritted his teeth as he spied his nemesis, and Yamato drew his Keyblade. Ankoku laughed at this.

"Oooh so scary!" Ankoku said feigning fear.

He looked down at the glob of goop that was oozing around, the floor and the absence of the heartless in the room as well.

"I must say I'm disappointed that you were able to slice through my clone so easily…especially after I spent so much time working on that…oh well at least my experiment worked." Ankoku said with a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about; but I should have figured that abomination was your doing…" Sora said through gritted teeth.

"Especially after my wonderful Riku one that I created earlier…I guess some Keyblade masters just aren't that smart…" Ankoku scoffed. He unfolded his arms and grinned at the trio, who didn't take their eyes off of him.

"However, that is beside the point…I'm actually here to play good Samaritan." He said.

"Yeah I'd believe that…" Sora said rolling his eyes.

"Such sarcasm…and yet you're the one that I am here to talk about!" Ankoku said clicking his tongue.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.

"You see…little do you know that I have been following you…simply biding my time for the horrors that I am waiting to unleash on you…" Ankoku started. "I was listening in on one of your conversations when I happened to hear something that didn't sound quite right to me." Ankoku said, his eyes beginning to flash wildly.

"You see…I heard you mention a world called…Animus." Ankoku said.

Sora and Roxas's eyes grew wide.

"What are you blabbering about!?" Yamato said, itching to attack.

"Well…I heard our friend Sora made mention of how Animus fell due to a civil war some 150 years after the Eternal Void first enveloped the worlds…but I seem to remember a different version of the story…" Ankoku continued.

"What are you saying?" Yamato said, lowering his weapon slightly.

"What I am saying…is that I do believe that your companion has lied to you about the fate of your people." Ankoku said with a grin.

Yamato thought about this for a second and then let out a roar of laughter. Ankoku merely maintained his grin, while Sora and Roxas looked away.

"You're insane…Sora would never lie to me about something that important!" Yamato said, turning to Sora as if he was looking for reassurance.

"Isn't that right Sora!?" Yamato said.

He saw Sora looking away, not looking him in the eye. Yamato started to stare closely at Sora.

"He's lying…right Sora?" Yamato asked again, but Sora continued to look away.

Yamato turned around to Roxas, looking for some answers, but Roxas only looked down at the ground. Ankoku watched this scene with amusement.

"Oh how glorious this is…and to think…who would've thought reading a book would ever pay off?" Ankoku said. He then sighed.

"Unfortunately…I don't really have time to stay and watch this compelling saga unfold, as I still have some business to attend to…" Ankoku finished.

He held his hands out and small circles of black energy emanated from them. Hordes of heartless sprang up around him. He smiled at the trio.

"To show that I am a gracious guest…I will leave you three with a parting gift…have fun!" Ankoku laughed as he created another portal, and exited the area.

The armies of heartless all turned their attention to the trio. Yamato turned and saw the heartless advancing on them. He then looked at Sora, who looked back with a hint of guilt in his eyes. Yamato's eyes seemed to grow serious.

"The access point is up those stairs and to the left…let's go!" Yamato said as he tore towards the armies of heartless.

Sora was quick to follow. The two of them were able to slice their way through the heartless, and they were able to make there way over to where the access point was. The heartless were right on their tails and most of them were popping up as the trio made their way over to where Yamato had found the access point. They threw open the door to reveal the white room where Roxas had met Naminé, and quickly shut the door to prevent the heartless from coming in. The room looked no different from the times that Sora and Roxas had been there, with the exception that there were no drawings on the wall. There in the middle of the room on top of the table was the access point. The heartless were starting to break down the door, so the three of them were quick to jump through the access point. They emerged into a familiar place for Sora and Roxas.

"This is Disney Castle!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Yeah! Sweet! Maybe we're getting closer to home!" Sora stated.

"Let's go find the access point!" Sora said as he began to race off.

"SORA!" Yamato said in a stern voice, which sent shivers down Sora's spine.

Sora turned around and faced Yamato. Yamato's eyes no longer had the warmth that they used too. Sora walked over to where Yamato was, but stayed away from getting up too close to him. Sora looked into the cold eyes of Yamato, and looked away out of guilt. If there was any doubt in Yamato's mind about whether or not Sora had been lying to him, this didn't help matters.

"Sora…I want to know something…" Yamato said calmly.

Sora continued to look away, while Roxas contemplated hiding inside Sora during this conversation. Yamato cleared his throat and then continued.

"Is what Ankoku said about Animus true…?" Yamato asked.

Sora didn't look at him, but nodded affirmatively. A cold feeling ran through Yamato's body, a feeling of betrayal and fear over what really happened.

"Sora…I want you to tell me the truth about Animus." Yamato said sternly.

Sora finally looked up into Yamato's eyes, and Yamato could see the guilt and sadness in Sora's eyes. Sora looked around at Roxas, who looked back at him, and gave him a nod of confidence. Sora turned back to Yamato who was still looking at him intently. Sora breathed in, and let out a deep sigh.

**End of Chapter 9**

_DUN DUN DUN! See what I mean by cliffhangers? I guess you all will have to wait for chapter 10! When is that coming up? I really have no idea, just stay tuned. BTW things are coming great for the sequel…including new worlds from movies not seen in the game, new characters, new plot, and a whole lot of fun._

_Until Next time!_

_Later!_


	11. Seperation

Hmm…So I guess I owe a bit of an explination…

_Hmm…So I guess I owe a bit of an explanation…_

_Well…I got busy with life really, and when that happened the story was put on the back burner. I graduated college, started working, and have been so tired after work that the last thing I want to do is sit and type a story. Still I feel an obligation to myself and to you guys to see this story few. So while updates will be far more sporadic, this story will get finished, and after that we shall see how I feel before the sequel, but I do plan to get to that too eventually. _

_That being said, we now need to sit back and enjoy chapter 10 and find out the history of Animus._

_Enjoy!_

_Note: Square-Enix and Disney own these characters cept Ankoku and Yamato. The poem is anonymous…I don't know who owns it._

**Chapter 10: Separation**

"Animus…" Sora began, hesitating because he was still unsure if he wanted to tell Yamato the tale of his past.

Sora glanced over towards Roxas who gave a little nod, urging Sora towards the truth. Sora looked back to Yamato, who gazed back with stone silence. Sora sighed.

_Back in Destiny City: _

"Kairi…it's time…" Naminé whispered gently into Kairi's ear.

Kairi's eyes fluttered open and she glanced over at the alarm clock to her left.

"Yeah…you're right…" She said, yawning.

She got out of bed and went into the bathroom. She brushed her hair, and then quickly changed into a long sleeved blue shirt, that went with her mini-skirt. She threw on some tennis shoes as well.

"You need to stop taking these afternoon naps." Naminé said, slightly scolding her friend.

"Yeah." Kairi said half heartedly.

"We have to go run some errands for your mom really fast before we head out to the island…" Naminé informed still groggy princess.

"What do we have to do?" Kairi asked as she whisked away to her mirror where she threw her hair up into a ponytail.

"We have to pick up some things for dinner tomorrow night…the dry cleaning…and…well…here's the list…" Naminé said pointing to a piece of paper on Kairi's nightstand.

Kairi glanced at the note and sighed.

"This could take an hour or two…" Kairi stated.

"Yeah…tonight's her night out, and she was cleaning all day, and I kinda said that we could do all this…I just didn't know it was so much…" Naminé admitted.

"It's no big deal…we can do this stuff and then head over to the beach." Kairi said as she turned and walked out of her room.

Kairi walked down the stairs to the first floor of her house. She walked past the kitchen, and out the front door. It was a cool, summer night in Destiny City, and the temperature showed it. Kairi walked along the dirt path, while checking out the beautiful sunset that overlooked the island. She sighed as she remembered all the carefree days that she had spent on that island, and how now the island only seemed to serve as a constant reminder that he was gone.

"How long has it been now, Naminé?" Kairi asked.

"10…maybe 11 months…" She responded.

"Almost a year..." Kairi thought to herself as she reminisced on all that had happened over the past 12 months.

Rebuilding had all but finished in most of the worlds, and the new World Council was working round the clock to make sure that every thing was running smoothly. The new council had done much to improve world relations and world defense, also allowing easier passage for governmental business. It was a new era for diplomacy, although it kept many of their friends from making visits due to all the extra obligations that they now had to perform, most notably their friends at Disney Castle. In fact, with the exception of the birth of Donald and Daisy's child…Kairi hadn't seen the Disney Castle gang at all. Riku had been periodically running some missions for the King, but other than that…nothing. The same went for the Radiant Garden gang. They were all incredibly busy restoring their town in the wake of Ankoku and Maleficent's attack. The Twilight Town gang hadn't been seen since December; and they have had little contact with each other, except for a few letters from Olette. But as of lately, they hadn't received one since March, and it was now May.

Her friends in Destiny City were pursuing their various life choices. The Destiny City Sharks finished 2nd in their division and Wakka was an all-star as well as the rookie of the year. He was in his second year, and training camps had just started so he was constantly busy. Selphie had meanwhile begun taking course at college, working towards a degree in public relations. While she was initially going to start taking classes in the fall, she wanted to take a couple summer classes to get ahead. Tidus had moved to Radiant Garden to be with his new Blitzball team as well. There was tremendous hype for Tidus, as many were pegging him to be the player to turn Radiant Garden's fortunes around. He had signed a multi-million dollar deal, and had become a media darling with his new girlfriend, the current pop sensation Yuna. While Tidus and Selphie were no longer dating, Selphie still had some jealously over the new pairing. Still she had started to like a new guy by the name of Irvin, so it wasn't that bad.

Riku also had changed a lot in the past year as well. He was still the same psychically, but he was more moody and depressed, especially since Valentine's Day. At some point in March, Riku had decided to drop out of school. Since dropping out of school, he had gotten a job at a local dojo, teaching self-defense. Periodically he would run missions, but for the most part he would spend his time alone on the island, or at work. While Kairi knew that he was unhappy without Sora here, she could sense that there was something more that had happened to him, but was unsure as to what that was.

Naminé had been an anchor for Kairi throughout the past year, as their shared pain helped to get them through tough time after tough time. She was always looking out for her and there to encourage her. While they had one or two arguments, they were still the best of friends, and if anything, this had made them closer.

On a more personal level however, this past year had been very difficult for Kairi. Trying to make her life normal again, was far more difficult than anything that they had done before. The absence of Sora was like a void in her heart, and it hurt everyday. Most everyone was very sympathetic to Kairi, but there were still some people that took pleasure in her pain, such as Mako and his gang. This situation had forced her to become a stronger person.

"Kairi?"

The sound of Naminé's voice brought Kairi back to the present time. She glanced over at Naminé, who was looking at Kairi with a concerned look.

"What's up?" Kairi asked trying to play it off.

"Umm…you just passed the store…" Naminé pointed back towards the store.

"Oh…" Kairi said as she sheepishly walked back towards the store, as Naminé wondered what she was thinking about.

_In the Realm of Darkness: _

"Back in an earlier time, before the void was opened for a second time…my friend Riku and I had been taking some private lessons from a man named Master Yen Sid. He is the mentor of King Mickey, whom we've mentioned before." Sora said, looking up to see Yamato nodding in remembrance. Sora continued.

"Anyways…Master Yen Sid had a book, which told of various legendary lost worlds that either existed or were supposed to have existed at one point or another. I enjoyed reading that book, as it told of such wondrous places that I would have loved to see…Sora started.

"One section that was interesting was the tale of a lost world named Animus." Sora said.

"Lost…world?" Yamato said with quiet shock.

Sora glanced up at Yamato as if to ask him if he should continue. Yamato returned a look that told Sora that he had better finish it...He looked again at Yamato, who gazed back intently. Sora then took a breath and began his tale.

"From what the book tells us; Animus had thrived as a civilization for hundreds of years under the basic traditions and values that you told us about." Sora said, looking periodically at Yamato, who stared back intently.

"It was a place that thrived unlike any world, and became the pinnacle of what the ideal world should be. The world was geographically isolated from the rest of the worlds, and thus became something of a rouge world. They didn't associate with any of the other worlds and vice-versa." Sora said, taking in a deep breath.

"Everything had been going smoothly…until…one day the king disappeared in the dead of night…" Sora said slowly.

The hard look that Yamato was giving him turned into a look of shock. Sora saw this, but pressed on.

"The book doesn't tell us what happened to him, but there were several theorists who came up with different ideas…one centering on the void that had sprung up around this time." Sora said pausing to glance at Yamato's shocked face before continuing.

"The man believed that the king was taken by the dark force that was growing in the region, while others thought that he abandoned his post in fear and left the rest of the royal family in charge because he sensed problems that were on the horizon…an unforgivable sin in the eyes of the citizens of Animus." Sora stated.

"I didn't know what the book was talking about with the void, until King Mickey explained it a few months later after it had been opened by Ankoku." Roxas stated.

"Neither did I" Sora added.

Yamato looked at Sora in disbelief. Sora slowly continued.

"Regardless of what happened…the fact was that the King was gone. The citizens of Animus at this point were able to pull together and rally around the remaining family and keep their world alive and thriving." Sora said which seemed to raise Yamato's spirits a little.

"However…problems began to arise for Animus in the absence of the king. There was a drought that ended up doing significant damage to the economy of Animus. Violence became a reoccurring thing in Animus, and the royal family was strained to maintain order. There was a huge power vacuum as well…and numerous political factions vied for power in the absence of the King. The royal family tried desperately to help guide the world through the tough times…but it was no use…" Sora said looking up at Yamato, whose lower lip was now quivering but his eyes remained locked on Sora.

"The violence continued to grow as the factions bickered back and forth. Finally it all came to a head one fateful night. There was a small skirmish that broke out between rival political factions. This incident combined with the drought and growing unrest led to a large scale violent civil war." Sora said.

Yamato remained silent. Roxas was watching him, and made a motion towards him, but Yamato saw him out of the corner of his eye and motioned for him to stay away. Sora continued to tell the story.

"The violence grew out of control. Riots began to spring up across the city…and the royal family was trying desperately to hold onto their power. Eventually the violence turned towards the royal family…" Sora said looking up at Yamato.

"No…Miyu…" Yamato said, his eyes wide like saucers.

Sora looked away, guilty about finishing the story. Roxas looked at him.

"Finish it Sora…he needs to know…" Roxas stated urging his friend.

Sora looked at Roxas and let a deep sigh.

"The royal family…was…captured…and then…" Sora said stopping.

"What happened…?" Yamato asked, tears forming in his eyes.

"They were publicly executed." Sora finally let out.

It felt like a shotgun to Yamato's chest. Roxas's heart went out to Yamato, but he didn't dare go near him after his last attempt. Sora watched Yamato's reaction, and wanted to help him, but was afraid…afraid for how Yamato would react to him after his lie.

"W…what of Animus?" Yamato choked out.

Sora looked at the pain in his eyes, and looked away. Upon seeing this Yamato became incensed. He stormed up to Sora and slapped him hard across the face. Sora took the blow, but still didn't look Yamato in the eyes.

"TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!!" Yamato roared as he grabbed Sora by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground.

Sora struggled to fight out of the grip, but Yamato had it locked in, his face a mask of rage and frustration.

"Yamato!! Calm down!" Roxas called out.

Yamato turned and saw the shocked look on Roxas's face. His rage slowly subsided and he roughly set Sora on the ground, who began rubbing his neck. Yamato backed up a bit, but didn't take his gaze off of Sora.

"What happened to Animus?" Yamato asked again, with less rage but still with force.

Sora finally looked up at Yamato, and rubbed his neck. He seemed to have a little anger in his eyes from the assault by Yamato. Still he decided to tell Yamato this time, rather than deal with him.

"After the fall of the royal family…the violence only increased…tearing the world apart. Almost two weeks later a massive fire broke out and destroyed most of the world. With all of the fighting and fires breaking out, many citizens opted to leave the world, searching for new places to live. However…they found the world borders closed." Sora said.

"Why?" Yamato asked.

"The Keyblade…" Sora responded.

Yamato looked with stunned silence at Sora, then turned and looked at his golden Keyblade with puzzlement.

"Since Animus was cut off from the other worlds and wrapped up in their own problems, they hadn't noticed the backlash from the void's creation and destruction… and the growing fear over the Keyblade wielder." Sora explained.

Yamato looked down at the blade again, as Sora continued to talk.

"You see…while the Keyblade Master did save the universe from destruction…his action of sealing the void actually destroyed several worlds in the process." Sora said looking up at Yamato.

"And when I said gone I mean gone…there were no remnants of these worlds…they vanished. Numerous members of the World Council were stunned by this shocking display of power by the Keyblade. Never had the Keyblade shown any kind of maliciousness to it, and they were fearful should the blade fall into the wrong hands. Now the ideal course of action would appear to be to keep tabs on whatever the world is that the Keyblade master came from. But the problem there is that they didn't have one specific location that produced the Keyblade master. So…in an effort to limit the amount of damage that the Keyblade could do in the wrong hands, they decided to close off their worlds." Sora stated.

"He was telling the truth about that…" Roxas suddenly stated. "We had to do a lot of work to restore the name of the Keyblade Master…" He finished.

"Animus…would fall from the inside… and their population would either flee to a new barren wasteland world that numerous citizens of Animus had settled or they would die in the violence. Before long Animus lay in ruins; from the ashes of one world, the citizens would regroup and create a new world…Disney…which is still around today…but it was a long and grueling process." Sora finished.

Yamato looked from Sora to Roxas. He looked down at his blade, before gazing back up at Sora with stone cold eyes.

"How long have you kept this from me?" Yamato

"I didn't figure the connection between you and the Animus King until you told us last night." Sora said.

"Then why lie? Why not tell me the truth?!" Yamato said, his temper starting to flare.

"I…I didn't want you to be hurt…" Sora said almost pleading.

"Well you did…and in a much worse way…" Yamato said as he recalled his Keyblade.

Yamato looked to the ground and pondered all the feelings and visions that he had seen of the duration of his time in the Realm of Darkness. So many times he heard his wife and family calling out to him, pleading for him to come save them, but he brushed them off as tricks of the darkness…only now to discover that he was listening to the death and torture of the ones he loved…including his wife. Yamato looked up to Sora, who wore a concerned look on his face. Yamato's began to show a dull rage.

"You told me…that Animus fell later…but it fell because of me…I failed as its King…and more importantly…as a husband…" Yamato lamented. "You lied to me Sora…after all that I had done for you…you betrayed me…" He said glaring at Sora. "How can I trust you anymore?" He asked Sora and turned and slowly began to walk away.

:"Where are you going?" Sora asked.

"This is the end of my journey…goodbye Sora…." Yamato said as he walked off.

Sora began to race after him, but Yamato called forth his Keyblade and took a fighting stance. Sora stopped and looked at his once cheerful friend with shock.

"If you follow me…I will not hesitate to use this on you…" Yamato stated before recalling the blade and continuing to walk away.

"Yamato! Don't Go!" Sora said, pleading with his friend to stay, but it was no use. Yamato continued to walk off until Sora couldn't see him anymore.

"DAMNIT!!" Sora screamed as he fell to his knees and slammed his fists to the ground.

Roxas merely sat and watched him, lamenting over the whole situation. Sora felt Roxas watching him and turned over towards him. All the rage and anger that Sora was feeling boiled over and he lashed out at Roxas.

"What the hell are you staring at?! You wanna leave too?" Sora snapped.

"Sora…you don't need to take this out on me…" Roxas said quietly.

"Oh shut up! All you've been doing since we've been here is bitching and moaning about how much this place sucks and how you want to see Naminé…well guess what!? I miss Kairi just as much as you miss Naminé! I wish for once you could have actually been useful during this trip!!" Sora screamed, his face turning beat red and his eyes flashing a bit.

Roxas began to get a little heated as well.

"I don't know why you have to act like that…I'm not the one that told Yamato a lie about his wife and home!" Roxas fired back.

"I did it to try and protect him!" Sora screamed.

"Oh yeah great job there…" Roxas said sarcastically. "He was so thankful that he almost tried to kill you and then left us." Roxas said his temper full blown.

"Whatever…it's not like we needed him anyway!" Sora snapped.

"Would you listen to yourself? What the hell is wrong with you?" Roxas said.

"What?" Sora asked Roxas.

"You're being an ass!"" Roxas said bluntly.

"Oh yeah? Well if I'm such an ass…then maybe you should get the hell out of here!" Sora yelled drawing his Keyblade.

"You know that's not going to hurt me!" Roxas stated.

"Go on and join your buddy! Seeing as it sucks to be near me!" Sora said waving his blade around.

"You know what? You need to cool down…realize that you screwed up…and once you do that…maybe then we can get back to this quest!" Roxas said as he turned and walked away.

"Go ahead and leave! I don't need you!" Sora said as he watched his friend walk away, his eyes dancing wildly.

"Screw you Roxas!" Sora screamed as Roxas faded off into the distance.

Sora watched his friend float off, and scoffed as he faded from view.

"I don't need them…I'll find that access point myself." Sora sneered, as an almost dark feeling seemed to wash over his body as he walked away in the opposite direction.

_Back in Destiny City:_

"Man…that took longer than expected…" Naminé sighed as they left the final store, as the shopkeeper locked the door behind them, and flipped the open sign to close.

"You're not kidding…" Kairi said as she gazed at the sun.

The sun was just beginning to set over the island, and Kairi figured that they had about an hour of sunlight.

"We need to get these groceries back home, then hurry back out." She said quickly.

"Well…let's go!" Naminé said as she tore off down the dirt path.

_Back in the Dark Realm: _

Sora continued to search high and low for the access point with an unusual determination considering the circumstances that had happened in the last hour. He cut through any forestry that got in his way, and spared not a thought for his missing companions. He was solely focused on getting to the access point and finding a way to get back home. He cut through some undergrowth and a green light shone through the opening. Sora peered through and saw the access point. He stepped into the small clearing and approached the access point with tremendous resolve. He stepped up and reached out to touch it. He turned back around, and for a second seemed to spare a thought for his comrades. He shook it off and quickly walked into it, going to the next world.

_Back in Destiny City:_

Kairi and Naminé made their way to the bridge, and began walking over it to get to the island. After the funeral…they would try to get out to the island one day a week. They had also used this as a safe-haven during some of the more difficult times in the last year. Kairi crossed the bridge, and stepped onto the sandy beach. She walked over to the large, marble statue of Sora wielding his Keyblade, and gazed at it. She didn't say anything for a while, merely staring at the vision of Sora, and longed for him to be right there beside her. Naminé on the other hand, was using all this time to talk to Roxas. The stars had emerged in the night sky, and Naminé finished her one-sided conversation. She looked over at Kairi, as if she was urging Kairi to say something. Kairi saw this and finally she spoke.

"Hey Sora...I really miss you." She said.

"Nothing much has been happening this past week, but I wrote a poem for you." Kairi said as she brought a small piece of paper out of her pocket.

She unfolded the piece of paper and read it aloud.

When you're not here to share my days and nights

My life is so incomplete

For you are my heart, my soul

The 'oneness' I had known to seek

Without you I merely exist from day to day

With you I know that I will find

All that I have been searching for

My completeness, my eternal peace of mind

You are the keeper of my dreams

The man who holds my heart in his hands

The one I want to spend my life with

The one with whom I will always stand

Stand beside through thick and thin

Through all that life will throw our way

Knowing that this special love we share

Will guide us, each and every day

This journey was started long ago

Before this time and place

The journey of completeness

As two hearts and souls embrace

Forever is what I want with you

For the search is at an end

Our hearts have found each other

As lovers, as soul-mates, as friends.

She folded the paper, and tucked it back into her pocket. She looked back up at the statue of Sora, and a tear formed in her eye. She wiped the tear away and turned around to head back to her house.

Kairi took a few steps back, when suddenly she heard Naminé cry out.

"Look Kairi! A shooting star!"

Kairi turned around to see her nobody pointing up into the sky. Sure enough, she was able to catch a glimpse of the star, as it shot across the night sky and then vanished without a trace. Kairi shut her eyes.

"I wish that Sora and Roxas would come back." She said.

She opened them but saw nothing around her. She scolded herself for thinking that could have possibly worked.

"Come Kairi let's go home…" Naminé said softly.

Kairi nodded and then turned and walked back towards her house.

_Back in the Dark Realm:_

Ankoku sat and stared out at the shimmering door that appeared over the ocean water with concern. He sat in the dark side of Destiny Island, waiting for Sora to arrive, and preparing his next assault when the door suddenly appeared in a blinding flash.

"A door…to the world of light?" Ankoku wondered to himself; eying the door with curiosity.

"That…could hold…possibilities…" Ankoku said softly as an evil grin formed on his face.

**End of Chapter 10**

_Hmmm…Interesting stuff seems to be on the horizon…_

_Hopefully that will satisfy you all enough until chapter 11. If you want something to do in between then and now…go see Kung Fu Panda. _

_Later!_


	12. Alone

…_Soooo…yeah it's been awhile…considering that I started working on this chapter in June…but I guess better late than never! I was really busy with work, taking care of a house and a new puppy that I never really got around to working on this. It's tough getting older. Hopefully my updates will be less sporadic now that things have settled down in my life._

_When we last left off, Sora had split from Roxas and Yamato, and Ankoku had discovered a door that led home for Sora and Roxas. What is gonna happen? Gotta read to find out. Nearing the home stretch here with only 5 chapters more to go! _

_Yamato and Ankoku are mine, the rest are owned by Disney and Square-Enix._

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 11: Alone**

The waves crashed down on Destiny Island's beach. There was a slight chill in the air as a lone couple made their way across the beach with their hands entwined. As a gust of wind ripped past them, the two lovers pulled closer to each other; their long hair waving in the breeze. The auburn-haired girl shivered as another gust roared past, and another foam filled wave smashed against the beach. The silver-haired male that she was attached at the hip to gave a smile and pulled her even closer. The two walked with the moon slowly beginning to peek out of several clouds, illuminating their path.

"It's been a rough year Riku…" The female addressed her beau.

Riku took his thumb and caressed the back of his partner's hand.

"I know Kai…" Riku said softly.

"Sora has been gone for so long…and that hurt for awhile." Kairi started.

"Then Naminé left…" Riku chimed in.

"The fact that we haven't seen any of our friends for a while…" Kairi tossed out.

"And then Sora's parents passed away in that house fire…" Riku said sadly.

"It's just been one thing after another…" Kairi said.

"Not the greatest year I must say…but there was one thing that helped me cope…you." Riku stated.

Kairi stopped and pulled him close. The two lovers kissed passionately against the backdrop of the moon. They pulled apart and gazed into each others eyes. Kairi smiled and played with Riku's hair.

"Our love is what kept me going too." She said softly.

"I was surprised…I thought you and Sora were destined to be a couple…" Riku stated.

Kairi thought about his statement as she continued to play with his hair.

"Don't get me wrong…I still love Sora…but he was always so unresponsive every time I brought us up as a couple…and then once he was gone…I just got sick of pining for him and started to realize that he was more of a brother than he was a lover." Kairi explained, gently fingering his hair.

"Then there was the fact that you were always there for me…and I slowly became drawn to you…" She said, pulling closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"All of this seemed to culminate at my graduation party…" Kairi looked up into the eyes of Riku and smiled.

"For the longest time I never knew that I could ever feel anything but friendship with you…but when we danced at my graduation party…everything fell into place. She said, as she pulled him close.

"I love you Riku." She said with a smile.

"I love you too Kairi." Riku said, smiling back.

The two engaged in a passionate kiss. The waves crashed off in the distance as the two lovers pulled away gasping for air. The two looked at each other with loving grins as the wind picked up a little.

"You know…it sounds awful…but it's almost a good thing that Sora got sucked in…at least now we were able to find each other." Riku stated.

"I know…I felt that way too…" Kairi said with a smile.

The two pulled in for another kiss as the wind began to pick up even more. The air seemed to grow colder, and the two had to cling on to each other to support themselves. They still continued to kiss despite all this, and neither of them noticed the figure approaching them from the shadows. Riku heard the footsteps and pushed Kairi off and whirled around, Keyblade at the ready. He stared as the figure moved closer, but couldn't really make him out in the darkness. As the figure came closer into view Riku could see that the figure was wearing a robe similar to that of Organization XIII members.

"Who are you!?" Riku snarled at the intruder.

The figure said nothing, but drew a Keyblade which caused Riku to take a step back. As he analyzed the figure's hooded face, he could sort of make out a glimpse of brown hair. Riku's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"S…Sora?" Riku said with bewilderment.

Kairi peeked out from behind Riku's arm.

"Sora? Is that you?" She asked the figure.

The figure said nothing, but merely cast his gaze back from Kairi to Riku. He continued to do this, which caused Riku to worry a bit, especially since the figure kept clutching the Keyblade.

"Sora is that you? Why aren't you answering?" Riku said, clutching his Keyblade; ready for every sudden move.

"Sora" remained silent not saying anything, still glancing back and forth between the two lovers, with wild, shifting eyes. Kairi began to get an uneasy feeling as well at the way this person was acting.

"Sora? Are you all right?" Kairi asked.

The figure continued to look back and forth between the two, so much that Riku began to sweat a bit.

"Sora…I'm sorry…you were gone…and we love each other…" Riku stammered.

The figure stopped shifting his head and seemingly focused on Riku's words. For a second it seemed that his head drooped, and the Keyblade seemed to lower. Riku looked disheartened. He hadn't intended to hurt Sora, and his heart went out to his friend.

"I'm sorry buddy..." Riku stated as he recalled his blade and took a step towards his friend.

Riku placed a gentle hand on the figure's shoulder. The figure looked at Riku's hand, before gazing back down at the ground.

"I'm sorry…but she chose me Sora…I know it's hard…and I know that you love her…but she doesn't feel that way about you." Riku said gently.

The figure seemed to droop even more, and Riku's heart was almost about to burst.

"I'm really sorry Sora…but…you're just like a brother to her." He said.

The figure's head seemed to drop further towards the ground. Riku felt terrible, and went to comfort his friend with a hug. Just as he was about to; he was cut off by a quick thrust from the figure's Keyblade piercing through Riku's chest. Kairi let out a blood-curdling scream as Riku fell to his knees. Riku coughed up some blood and stared up at his assailant with wide eyes. The person said nothing, and ignored Kairi's cries of anguish. He pulled his blade out and Riku fell face first into the sand, motionless and not breathing.

"WHY!!!???" Kairi screamed as she raced up and slapped her lover's killer hard across the face.

The figure turned his attention to her as he began to stalk her methodically. Kairi continued to back up, as he came closer and closer. She drew her blade but he was quick to knock it out of her hands. He continued to stalk her as she backed up, before tripping over her feet. She looked up at her stalker as he towered over her.

"Why!!?? I loved him!!" She cried as tears streamed down her face.

The figure said nothing; merely gazed at Kairi with curiosity.

"You're not Sora! The Sora I knew and loved would never do something so heinous as this!" Kairi screamed.

The figure paused for a moment; seemingly contemplating what she had said. The figure recalled his Keyblade and slowly removed his hood. Kairi sat and stared with her mouth agape and her eyes as big as saucers. Sora stood before her, but hardly the Sora that she had remembered. His face was white and covered with scars. His eyes, once a cool ocean blue, were now a deep, blood red.

"Sora…your…face…" Kairi said, horrified.

"The Sora you knew…is dead…" Sora said, in a beast-like voice.

"I…loved…you….and…you love…HIM…" Sora sputtered out in an almost beastly voice.

"I could never love you! YOU'RE A MONSTER!!!" Kairi screamed at him.

With that statement he raised his Keyblade high above his head and a wild eyed look on his face. Kairi's face went from one of anger to one of pure fear.

"If I can't have you…then no one will!!!" Sora roared in a demonic sounding voice.

He brought the Keyblade down as Kairi screamed Riku's name. He caught her with piercing blow across her chest. Blood shot up and splattered across Sora's face. Sora gazed at his former love with a psychotic look on his face. He raised his Keyblade once more for a finishing blow. The Keyblade was brought down with tremendous force, and more blood splattered on to Sora's face.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Sora screamed as he jerked himself up into a sitting position.

He looked around at his surroundings; but saw nothing but tall grass and the moon perched in the sky. He rubbed his arms, trying to get some feeling back into them. He was panting very heavily, trying to forget the nightmare. He looked down and saw that his undershirt was now soaked with sweat, as well as the rest of his body. Sora slowly got to his feet and grabbed his vest. He quickly threw it on, shook himself out of his shock, and quickly started walking away; his goal to find the next access point.

It had been a few days since Sora had separated from Roxas and Yamato. He had continued to pursue every access point that he could find in his never-ending quest to get back home. He was determined, almost possessed, about finding his way back home to Kairi. He had been able to make his way across several different planes and was now working his way through the Pridelands. Occasionally he had a passing thought about his comrades that he had left behind, but his yearning desire to see Kairi again was able to override any passing thoughts about them. Every time that he had tried to sleep however, he was haunted by the vision of Riku and Kairi together and then his vicious murder of them. He tried to shake the idea that this was really happening or some glimpse of the future; but ever since Yamato informed him about the visions that he had…he just wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore.

Sora continued to trek across the vast plains of the Pridelands in search of the elusive access point. He also noticed that unlike his previous visits to the Pridelands, he had not transformed into a lion cub. Sora didn't really concern himself with that, as he just took it as one of the few positives that he had experienced since coming to the dark realm. His sole goal remained finding the access point. He made his way over to the jungle area and searched high and low for the access point, but couldn't locate it. He started to walk over toward the one area that he hadn't checked yet; the Elephant Graveyard. On his way, his thoughts turned from access points to Roxas and Yamato and what they were doing now. Were they still trying to find access points? Or were they in some sort of trouble?

"No…I can't think like that…I need to press on…" Sora thought to himself, pushing the thoughts about them from his mind as he entered the Elephant Graveyard.

_In another plane: _

Yamato was sitting quietly on a rock as a small campfire softly glowed in front of him. The terrible downfall of his people and those he loved still rocked him to his very core. He had been unable to get a good night's sleep for the past few days, as visions of his dying people kept haunting his dreams. He had been able to find access points, but he really wasn't sure where he was at this point. Still it didn't matter he was too lost in his thoughts and depression to really care. Little did he know that someone was watching him from the bushes, and was inching closer to where Yamato was sitting.

"Yamato?" The figure called out.

Yamato broke his trance and whirled around. He called his Keyblade, but quickly called it back once he saw that it was only Roxas. He sat back down as Roxas floated over to where he was sitting. Yamato didn't look up at the blonde-haired teenager.

"What are you doing here?" Yamato said bluntly. "Shouldn't you be with Sora?"

Roxas shook his head.

"Almost immediately after you left he flipped out on me. I told him to calm down, and went away for a bit. However when I went back there he had left. I searched the entire area but he was gone. My best guess is that he took off to the next plane, so I followed him into the next access point." Roxas explained.

"Hmph…" Yamato grunted.

"So what's your story? Why are you following Sora?" Roxas asked.

"I'm trying to get home…" Yamato said turning away.

"…By going the same way that Sora did?" Roxas asked, slightly confused.

"I didn't know that I was…had I known I would have gone the other way." Yamato said.

Roxas sighed.

"Are you still mad about that?" He asked.

"About what?" Yamato said with sarcasm. "The fact that he completely lied to me about the entire fate of my people?"

"You know that he only did that so you didn't get hurt." Roxas said.

"And that makes it okay!?" Yamato roared causing Roxas to back up.

"You're talking about my people! My home! My…my wife!! Everything that I ever loved is now gone…and he LIED!!!" Yamato roared.

"I know…it wasn't right…" Roxas muttered as he looked at the anger in Yamato's eyes. The rage seemed to stall Roxas's statement, but he was able to muster up the courage to finish.

"…and I'm sure that Sora knows that as well." Roxas said. "But right now he's out there alone against a beefed up Ankoku and any army of darkness that he has at his disposal…and he may need help…" Roxas stated.

Yamato's face remained stoic and a mask of rage. He looked at Roxas, as if the words hadn't even registered in his mind. Yamato and Roxas gazed at each other, with Roxas looking for any sign that his words were getting through to Yamato. Yamato finally broke the silence by letting out a grunt, and took his place back down by the fire. He said nothing to Roxas, who didn't move an inch. His mouth was slightly agape stunned at Yamato's actions.

"Sora has made his bed…and now the Keyblade master will have to lie in it." Yamato said gruffly.

Roxas floated there, still in awe. Suddenly, a slow simmering anger began to build up in Roxas as he watched Yamato sit there with no care about Sora.

"So that's it huh? You're gonna just sit there and give Sora to the wolves!?" Roxas fired out in a voice that seemed to be turning almost primal. Yamato stopped tending to his fire, and sat in silence as Roxas continued with his rant.

"You know…Sora may have made a mistake in not telling you about Animus…but for you to just leave him to die is despicable!!" Roxas roared.

"After all wasn't it Sora who's been trying to battle his way back to our world…not just for him but for you as well?!" Roxas pointed out.

Yamato just sat there taking this abuse from Roxas, not saying anything to dispute these facts. Roxas looked at this, and realized that nothing he said was going to change Yamato's mind. Roxas turned and began to float back from whence he came. Just before he re-entered the forest he turned back towards Yamato.

"To think that we actually looked up to you is laughable…as far as I'm concerned…you don't deserve to wield that Keyblade…" Roxas said, and went through the trees.

Yamato stopped tending the fire, and simply gazed at the burning flame flickering against the night sky; pondering the many thoughts that he had going on in his head. He suddenly went from a pensive state to one of fury and rage as he took his Keyblade and flung it as hard as he could into a nearby tree. He stood up, kicked some dirt over the fire; then grabbed his blade and walked off in the opposite direction of Roxas.

_Back in the Elephant Graveyard:_

Sora continued to trek across the Elephant Graveyard looking for the access point. He couldn't find anything amidst the bones and rubble and was about to give up. He passed a giant elephant skull, and was stunned to see a green glow emitting from one of the empty eye sockets.

"There it is!" Sora said with glee.

He climbed up one of the giant tusks of the hollowed out skull, and climbed up to the eye socket. He peered inside, but something didn't seem quite right. There was still the green glow, but there was no sign of an access point. Something seemed to go off in Sora's brain.

"Wait a minute…this isn't…" Sora said before a green blast shot out of the eye, sending him sprawling backwards.

Sora slammed hard into a pile of bones and rubble. He groaned as he slowly got back to his feet.

"What the hell?" Sora groaned as he looked up at the now brightly glowing eye socket.

Sora then watched a salamander-like creature slither out of the eye. It was a dark-skinned creature with glowing green spots on its body. Its skin had almost a leathery appearance. Dangling from its head was an antenna with a glowing green orb on it, much like one would see on an angler fish. The creature stared at Sora with glowing green eyes. It raised its head and let out a roar. Sora was able to spot a heartless symbol on the beast's chest.

"One of Ankoku's no doubt…" Sora said as he drew his Keyblade.

The creature started firing off blasts from its antenna, but Sora was able to narrowly dodge them. He went in and slashed at the creature with his Keyblade. He caught the beast in the chest, causing the creature to scream in pain. Sora continued his assault on the creature, dodging the periodic blasts of energy that the beast fired at him. Sora was handling himself well until his vision suddenly went out, allowing the heartless to slash him with its claws and then attack him with its beam. Sora was hit with a blast, stunning him, and allowing the creature to score a few swipes with it's claws. One cut was really deep into Sora's gut. While this caused him pain, it also brought back his sight. Sora's sight came back right as the beast hit him with his tail; knocking Sora down to the ground. Sora was quick to scramble back to his feet, but his abdomen screamed in agony. He quickly cast a Curaga spell on himself, which closed his wounds.

The beast let out another roar and shot another beam at Sora. Sora quickly dodged that beam, and worked his way around the beast. The beast whirled around, attempting to take out Sora again with its tail. Sora leapt on to the tail and ran up the back of the beast. The beast roared and tried to shake him off but Sora brought his Keyblade down on the spine of the heartless. The heartless let out a primal scream and thrashed around, desperately trying to knock Sora off. Sora took his blade out of the beast's back and ran up the beast's back until he reached the head. He quickly shoved the blade into the skull of the beast. The beast let out one final roar, and then fell to the ground. It's carcass broke down into a black ooze.

Sora let out a sigh of relief, but suddenly began to feel very weird, as if something was churning around inside his stomach and moving around the rest of his body. Sora tried to shake it off, and after a bit he felt normal again. He called back his Keyblade and started searching for the access point. Sora didn't get very far as his symptoms started to flare up again. Sharp pains, like small needles, began to attack random points on his body. Sora's eyesight began to fade in and out and he screamed in pain as he fell to his knees. Slowly the pain subsided and Sora slowly staggered to his feet. He took heaving breaths as sweat poured down his face.

"Have I been infected?" Sora wondered to himself as his face contorted as another round of pain shot through his body.

Sora cast another Curaga spell on himself, which served to help relieve some of his symptoms, at least to the point that he could at least get back to his feet. He winced again at the pain that coursed through his body, but slowly continued his search. He made his way deeper into the graveyard, periodically using Curaga to temporarily heal his wounds. He pushed deeper and deeper into the Graveyard, until he finally found the access point, sitting in the center of an enormous ribcage. Sora was hesitant to approach the glowing green orb, checking to make sure there were no heartless that were going to attack him as soon as he approached it. Once he made sure that there was nothing to be worried about, he slowly made his way up to the orb. He reached out to touch the access point, but he pulled back at the last second. His mind, which to this point had been solely focused on finding the access point, suddenly drifted back to his comrades that were left behind. He started to regret his selfish decision to leave them in pursuit of his own desire to get back home. While he desperately wanted to see Kairi, he realized that Roxas wanted to see Naminé just as badly. He started to realize that he had not only been disgraceful to his friends, but he was disgracing the name of the Keyblade master, something that he had worked so hard to make mean something.

"I need to go back for them…" Sora said to himself, as he began to turn around.

Sora walked a few yards, before he began to feel something pulling him back. He turned back and saw that the access point was forming a vacuum and pulling him towards it! Sora began to run hard in the opposite direction, but the orb's suction power seemed to grow stronger. Sora began to feel himself being pulled back into the orb. He drew his Keyblade and drove it hard into the ground as added support. Sora dug in deep and held on with all his strength. Large pieces of bones were getting sucked into the access point, but Sora was still holding on for dear life. Suddenly the sharp pain flared up again in the bowels of his stomach. Sora fought for his life to hold on but the pain was becoming too excruciating for him to handle. Sora was so busy concentrating on the pain ripping his body up, that he failed to notice a large bone heading his way. The bone caught Sora in the chest, sending him sprawling into the access point, leaving the Keyblade stuck in the ground. Sora tried to fight the pull but it was no use, and the world went black around him. Sora felt like he was getting ripped in two from the combination of the pull from the orb as well as the pain in his body. He was violently ripped through the portal, until he came flying out the other end, hitting the ground with significant force. Sora's body skidded on the ground until it slammed awkwardly into a large tree.

"UGH!!!" Sora cried out as his pain-ridden body t-boned around the tree.

Sora lay on the ground in agony as he tried to raise his hand to cast Curaga on himself. After a few tries, he was finally able to get the spell off. As the pain slowly subsided, Sora was able to get to his feet. Sora felt his body, and was surprised to feel some pain and some cuts, as if the Curaga hadn't healed everything.

"Odd…" Sora thought to himself.

Sora turned away from that and tried to focus on his surroundings. He stared around, and as his senses slowly returned to him, his mouth gaped in horror as he realized where he was. The surroundings looked similar to other places, but it was the small hut off in the distance that caused Sora to slump to his knees. It was Yamato's.

"No…it can't be…" Sora moaned, realizing that his great journey had just sent them in one gigantic circle.

"But it is young Keyblade Master!" A voice called out from above him.

Sora tilted his head and looked around before his eyes settled on a figure that was perched high on one of the large tree branches. He recognized him instantly as the man that had been antagonizing him for the past six months. Ankoku smiled sickly back at Sora.

"I told you that you would never escape this prison of darkness!" Ankoku roared triumphantly. "And now you find yourself right back to where you started!"

Sora looked around dejected. All the work and hardships that he had endured over the last two months had been for nothing. All his hopes and dreams of seeing his friends…his family…Kairi…were all dashed away in a matter of seconds. Ankoku saw the sadness and hurt in Sora's face and he relished this.

"The sadness on your face is intoxicating Sora." Ankoku said with tremendous glee.

Ankoku raised his hands, focusing his energy towards the ground. Numerous heartless sprang out of the ground, and began to slowly stalk Sora. Sora was despondent, but stood up to fight off the heartless. As he rose to his feet however, some of the dull pain scattered around the insides of his body started to throb. Sora winced as the pain hit at different intervals in his body. Ankoku noticed this, and his smile grew wider. He quickly raised his hand and gave it a wave. Just like that all the heartless were instantly vaporized. Ankoku slowly floated down from his perch on the tree. He conjured up his blade made of the black ooze and stood at a ready stance.

"Rather than having my drones do it…I think I will take the perfect satisfaction…in bringing about your downfall!" Ankoku sneered.

Sora said nothing. He raised his hand and called forth his Keyblade…but nothing happened. Sora looked frantically at his hand, calling and calling for his blade, but still nothing. Sora slowly started to realize that his Keyblade hadn't followed him into this plane. Ankoku snickered at Sora's predicament.

"What's the matter boy? No weapon?" Ankoku asked, already knowing full well what the answer was.

Ankoku hovered over to a nearby tree. He took his blade and hacked off a large branch. The branch fell to the ground with a loud thud. Ankoku hovered down, and used his powers to conjure up three Arabian knight heartless. The heartless used their blades to mold the large branch into a smaller wooden Keyblade. Ankoku then took out the heartless with one single slash from his blade. He then kicked the worthless blade over to Sora.

"There! Now it's an even fight!" Ankoku sneered.

Sora looked at the blade glumly, and then back to the sneering Ankoku.

"Come on Sora! Put up your dukes!" Ankoku said mockingly.

Sora walked over to the blade, not taking his eyes off Ankoku, and slowly bent down to pick up his weapon. Sora took a defensive stance, preparing for Ankoku's onslaught. Ankoku laughed at this, waving his blade back and forth. Without warning he launched himself at Sora. Sora was barely able to dodge the swipe that Ankoku took, but Ankoku quickly was able to take the hilt of his blade and jam it into Sora's ribs. While it wasn't a really forceful blow, the pain that was still racing through Sora's body caused the pain to be so great that Sora dropped to one knee. Rather than take advantage of the situation, Ankoku merely walked away, and assumed a fighting stance; waiting for Sora to get back to his feet. Slowly but surely Sora got back to his feet; but it was obvious that he was in tremendous pain. Combined with him not having the Keyblade and his mental state, the match up clearly favored Ankoku, which was not lost on the combatants. Sora still adopted a defensive stance, which caused Ankoku to grin sadistically.

"Welcome to your worst nightmare Sora!" Ankoku said, oozing with confidence.

**End of Chapter 11**

_There is chapter 11! Hope you enjoyed it and I will get Chapter 12 up to you as quickly as possible!_

_Peace!_


	13. Dueling with Death

_Yeah…yeah it's been awhile so let me bring you up to speed with what's going on._

_With a full-time job, a dog, as well as taking care of my house; the story has been one of the last things on my mind. Hence why I haven't updated since the fall. I've actually had a lot of this chapter done, just couldn't finish it. _

_Now I do plan on finishing this, and hopefully now I can finish it quicker. Although with summer and a social life, who knows when this will get finished. I am hoping to have this done by the end of the summer so I could start on the final book in the fall, but obviously that's a tentative plan at best. _

_However! You still have a new chapter so enjoy!_

_Square and Disney own all except Yamato, Anne, and Ankoku._

**Chapter 12: Dueling with Death**

"Now it's time for you to die Sora!" Ankoku said, licking his chops to get at the injured Keyblade master.

Sora's body coursed with pain, and Sora struggled to focus on Ankoku. He held his Keyblade at the ready, eyeing Ankoku warily. Ankoku gleamed at the state of Sora, almost salivating at the retribution that he was certain to obtain. True to Ankoku's wild nature and erratic fighting style; he wasted no time in charging right at Sora, hoping to catch him off-guard. Sora was ready and quickly deflected the attack. Ankoku was not deterred and continued his assault on the beleaguered Sora. Sora defended the attacks well, but it was slowly becoming obvious that the pain was starting to take it's toll on his body. Ankoku's attack was relentless, and Sora was having an increasingly harder time keeping up. With Sora constantly on the defensive Ankoku was successfully wearing Sora down. With his strength seemingly being sapped at every attack, Sora realized that the time was coming soon for him to make a move. Ankoku unleashed with a horizontal slice, and Sora took the opportunity to duck the assault and went low with his blade on Ankoku. Ankoku was able to dodge the attack, but Sora was now able to go on the offensive, preserving some of his strength in the process.

_In another plane:_

Roxas was wandering around in the Pridelands, searching for the access point. He was hurried in his search, as he didn't know how much time Sora had left. He continued to search high and low for an access point, but no access point revealed itself to him. He was starting to get very frustrated, and upon finding no access point in the jungle area, let his frustrations come to fruition.

"WHERE THE HELL IS IT!!!??" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

A rustling from behind caught Roxas's attention. He turned around and saw a familiar person come through the heavy brush. Roxas's jaw dropped as Yamato came bursting through the brush.

"Yamato!? What are you doing here?" Roxas asked.

Yamato came up to Roxas with a determined look on his face. Roxas caught his gaze, and noticed a bit of sadness in his eyes as well.

"I thought about what you said, and I realized that you were right…" He admitted.

"I was right?" Roxas said, not sure if he really heard Yamato correctly.

"While I am mad at Sora for lying to me…I do realize that he did it to protect me." Yamato explained. "I also feel that even though I have only known him for a short time, he has been trying to help me for awhile, unknowingly cleaning up the misdeeds that my blade and I have caused with my actions." He said.

Roxas smiled at him.

"Well it's good that you decided to come along, because I can't find the access point…and if we don't hurry…Sora could be a goner!" Roxas stated urgently.

Yamato raised his blade up to his face.

"Well then…let's go!" He cried as the duo headed off in search of the access point.

_Back at the battle:_

The two sides were evenly matched in the battle, as Sora could gain no ground with his offensive onslaught, much as Ankoku was unable to earlier. The one thing that was happening is that Sora was slowly getting weaker and weaker from the infection that riddled his body with pain. What had started as a pain in his abdomen had spread throughout the rest of his body. His vision was starting to fade as well and his attacks were getting sloppy. Sora realized that he needed to try and heal himself, but he couldn't get the necessary separation from Ankoku to get the Curaga spell off. Sora decided to make a ditch effort to get some separation. He took his blade and went low on Ankoku, hoping to take his legs out from under him. However, Ankoku was able to flip over the attack and over Sora as well. Before Sora could spin around, Ankoku was able to slash at the back of Sora's thigh, dropping Sora to the ground in tremendous agony. Ankoku sneered as he watched Sora attempt to get back to his feet. Sora was able to get back up, but he couldn't put any weight on his left leg without having the leg collapse on itself. Sora hobbled to his feet, and held the Keyblade at a ready position. Ankoku switched up for his next assault, and adopted a more systematic strategy. He started to attack at the injured leg of Sora, causing Sora to flail away at him in an attempt to protect his leg. With Sora concentrating so much on his leg, Ankoku switched his attack style and started to pick apart other parts of Sora's body; namely his right arm, the one that held the Keyblade. Ankoku's assault continued to wear down Sora even more. Finally, Sora made a desperate lunge at Ankoku and missed horribly. Rather than assaulting Sora with his Keyblade, Ankoku grabbed Sora's arm and locked it up in an arm bar. Ankoku's face went sinister as Sora squirmed trying to get out of the submission hold. Ankoku pulled back on Sora's arm until there was a sickening snap. Sora screamed in agony as Ankoku took the injured arm and judo flipped Sora on the ground. Sora was now left with one arm and one leg, the arm being the non-Keyblade one. Sora tried to crawl away but a sharp stab from Ankoku's blade in Sora's right rotator cuff.

"AHHH!!" Sora cried out in pain.

Ankoku laughed at the pain Sora was in. Sora continued to crawl, and attempted to get back to his feet. Sora was able to get halfway before Ankoku took the hilt of his blade and smashed Sora in the back of the head. Sora sprawled out groggily on the ground. Ankoku laughed and grabbed Sora by the throat, lifting him several inches off the ground. Sora struggled to fight back, but was unable to in his weakened state. Ankoku gleamed at this situation.

"Get ready Sora…because I'm about to take you to hell!" He roared.

_On Destiny Island:_

"This party is going to be so amazing!" Selphie said, as she scoured through the various party favors that were strewn about on the floor.

"I know I can't wait for it!" Naminé said, as she floated next to Kairi, who was busy looking in the mirror.

Kairi was busy trying on a new dress that Anne had seamed for her graduation party. It was a beautiful strapless, teal, satin dress, that went down to her knee and cut off half-way up her bust. She admired it in the mirror with quiet awe. Selphie looked up from what she was doing at Kairi.

"You look so beautiful!" Selphie gushed.

"Thanks…" Kairi said smiling.

"I think those coral pink wedges that you have would look great with it!" Naminé squealed.

"And I have a faux flower that we could put in your hair for a more summer look!" Selphie added.

Kairi turned and smiled.

"That sounds great! We'll have to try those on…" Kairi said, turning her attention back to the mirror.

"So who is all coming to this party?" Selphie asked.

"Well Riku and Anne are locks, so are our friends from Twilight Town." Naminé stated.

"Wakka and his new girlfriend are able to come thanks to this being the bye week for the Destiny City Sharks…" Selphie added.

"What about Tidus?" Naminé blurted out, before covering her mouth after Kairi gave her a glare.

Selphie was taken aback by Naminé's sudden inquisition.

"No…he's not coming, he has a game this weekend and has to practice …" She said, seemingly a little peeved.

Kairi noticed the look on her friend's face.

"How are you holding up?" She gently asked her friend.

"I'm good…school has kept me busy and really not thinking about it." Selphie shrugged.

"But are you ok?" Naminé asked.

Selphie looked up with a smile.

"Well yes and no…" Selphie started. "I mean we agreed to the break-up mutually, so I'm not as sad about that…" She stated. "The thing that gets me is that he's already dating again…I dunno…a part of me still hoped that we could still be together." She said.

"Aww I'm sorry Selphie…" Naminé said.

"It's okay…I mean…how could any man resist Yuna?" Selphie said, with a hint of anger in her voice.

Kairi didn't know what to say. The news had broken a few weeks ago that Radiant Garden's #1 over-all pick was spotted around town with the pop-singing sensation Yuna, and they were being more than just friendly. The worlds were ablaze with speculation and rumors until finally Yuna's publicist admitted that the two were indeed a couple. Selphie, while never fully letting on, was obviously bothered by this recent development.

"Don't worry about it Selphie…aren't there any cute guys that go to college with you?" Naminé asked.

Selphie thought about it for a bit.

"Well…there's this one guy named Irvine…" Selphie said, semi-blushing. "He's in a class with me…"

"Well that's good!" Naminé said. "You should date him!"

"Hold on now Naminé…I don't even know if the guy likes me." Selphie stated.

"You should go and ask him out…if anything it will help you forget about Tidus." Kairi chimed in.

Selphie seemed to mull it over. She looked up at her friends who had their gazes locked on hers. Selphie tired to hide the smile, but it eventually broke out, causing Kairi and Naminé to laugh.

"Alright…I'll give it a shot…" Selphie said, relenting to her friends.

"YAY!!!" The two girls squealed.

The three shared a laugh that was only interrupted by the sound of loud cursing being done by someone outside. The girls stopped and peered out the bedroom window. The looked down to see Riku and Wakka moving a rather large object, or at least they were but it looked like it landing on Riku's foot.

"Come on Wakka!" Riku snapped at Wakka.

"Sorry jah? Lost my grip." Wakka apologized.

"Well be more careful!" Riku said, rubbing his foot furiously.

"HEY!!!" A group of voices called out from up above.

Riku looked up towards Kairi's window, where the voice called out from. He saw the trio of girls, and immediately sprang to his feet, forgetting that his foot was injured, and then fell back down. The girls laughed from high above, as Wakka joined in. Riku slowly got to his feet.

"What are you two doing?" Kairi shouted down.

"Uh…taking this…television to my house!" Riku said, stuttering a bit.

The girls looked at the box.

"That doesn't look like the box that a television would be in…" Selphie pointed out.

"Uh…" Riku stammered and looked to Wakka for help.

"Uh…it's a special one jah?" Wakka said quickly.

The girls looked at each other with smirks on their faces.

"You're totally lying to us." Naminé stated.

The two guys looked at each other and quickly picked up the box and took off with it.

"See you at the party jah!?" Wakka called out and they raced off.

The girls laughed as the two ran off in the opposite direction.

"What do you think they are up to?" Naminé asked.

"Who knows?" Selphie laughed as she looked at her watch. "Aw jeez…I have a class in an hour…" Selphie said.

"Ok Selphie we will see you at the party tonight!" Kairi said with a smile.

"Right! See you!" Selphie said as she waved goodbye to Naminé and exited the room.

Kairi turned back to her dress, as Naminé took a place on her bed. The two went about their business for a few minutes. Kairi would say things to herself but Naminé was eerily quiet.

"You okay Naminé? You seem quiet" Kairi said, as she dug through her closet for the shoes she was going to wear tonight.

Naminé didn't respond right away, she hesitated for a moment.

"What do you think they are doing right now?" She asked quietly.

Kairi continued to rummage through her closet.

"Riku and Wakka? Who knows." Kairi said.

Naminé was quiet.

"No…" She said. "Sora and Roxas."

Kairi stopped searching and turned around. She saw Naminé with a tear in her eye. Kairi walked over and sat down next to her. She wanted to hug her friend, but she knew that she couldn't. She smiled at Naminé and attempted to put her arm around her. Kairi was amazed to feel that she was actually touching something that felt like a human body. She pulled away fast and looked at Naminé, but noticed no difference. Kairi shrugged it off.

"Don't worry Naminé…I'm sure those two are just fine!" She said warmly.

_Back in the Dark Realm:_

Sora smacked into the side of a tree with a sickening thud. Ankoku laughed with glee as he watched the battered Sora slowly crawl to one leg.

"What's the matter boy!?" Ankoku mocked. "Am I too powerful for you?"

Sora staggered to his feet. He was only able to stand on one leg, and held the Keyblade in his left hand, which was not his battling arm. It felt awkward to Sora and looked like it even more. His arm and leg were racked with pain, which shone through on Sora's face. Ankoku saw this and mockingly struck the same pose. Sora took a wild, bumbling lunge at Ankoku, but Ankoku was too much for Sora in his weakened state. After a few meager swipes, Ankoku sent Sora sprawling back towards the tree again. Sora again slammed into the tree, his body almost wrapping around the trunk. Sora's body crumbled into a heap. Ankoku laughed and causally strolled over to where the fallen Sora lay. Ankoku saw Sora reach out for his Keyblade, so Ankoku kicked it out of his reach. Ankoku dragged Sora away from the tree and stood over him, with Sora laying between his legs. He lorded over Sora, sneering at the pain on Sora's face. Ankoku bent down towards Sora's face, slapping him while verbally assaulting the Keyblade master.

"Didn't I tell you that you couldn't defeat me boy!?" Ankoku snarled, slapping Sora in the face yet again. "This is my world! You can't ever match my power here!" Ankoku grinned as he lifted his manifested Keyblade and held it to Sora's throat.

"I could kill you right now Sora…but then I wouldn't the pleasure of torturing you…" Ankoku said coldly, stepping on the injured arm of Sora; causing him to cry out in anguish.

Ankoku slapped Sora again and then pulled him up by the front of his shirt and close to his face, with Sora's lower half still on the ground.

"And after I finish with your carcass; I will do the same to your friends." Ankoku sneered, his eyes flashing wildly as he stared into Sora's aggrieved eyes. Ankoku smacked Sora in the face again for good measure.

"And Sora…" Ankoku said, as Sora was still smarting from the latest slap. "Once I gain access to the Realm of Light…the first thing that I am going to do…" He started, a sick gleam forming on his face. "is pay a visit…to that little girlfriend of yours." Ankoku finished.

Sora snapped out of the trance of pain that he was succumbing to. His eyes locked with the sadistic eyes of Ankoku.

"After all…someone will have to bear my descendants!" Ankoku screamed in Sora's face.

If looks could kill, Ankoku would have been six feet under. Ankoku paid no attention to the rage building in Sora, confidant that he had control of the situation.

"And once her body is used up, and she becomes no longer useful to me…she will be treated just like the rest of you…tortured slowly until she too is deaAAHHH!!" Ankoku tried to finish but Sora unloaded with a rake of the eyes to Ankoku.

Ankoku dropped Sora to the ground and rubbed furiously at his eyes. Sora used this brief lapse to sweep Ankoku's legs out from underneath him. Sora quickly hobbled to his feet and grabbed the Keyblade. He pounced on Ankoku and held the Keyblade to his neck. Now it was Sora's eyes that were flashing wildly, with a rage not ever seen in his eyes. Sora gazed at Ankoku with murderous intent, and the pain that was in his body seemed to melt away.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't cut your vocal chords out right now!" Sora bellowed in a beastly roar.

Sora's eyes closed into slits and his eyes began to turn blood red. Rage and murder was all that he could think about, and Ankoku didn't like it one damn bit.

"S…Sora…think about what you're doing!" Ankoku cried out of fear.

"Oh I know what I'm doing!" Sora roared again, even more beastly than before.

"Think about it Sora…if you kill me like this…you are no better than me!" Ankoku quickly pointed out.

Sora paid no attention to this, and nothing changed in Sora's persona. Ankoku decided to press the issue for self-perseverance.

"You may not care…but what would your family and friends say?" He said.

"I don't care what they think!" Sora again snarled.

"Really…?" Ankoku questioned. "Not even…Kairi?"

Sora held the Keyblade there in place, but his eyes began to flash back to normal, as if he was coming around. Inside his brain there was a battle going on between his mind and the rage that was caused by his corruption. This also caused his arm and leg to slowly start throbbing. While this was going on Ankoku took this as an opportunity to kick Sora right in the groin. Sora staggered around clutching his family jewels, which allowed Ankoku to get up and knock Sora down with a solid right hand. Ankoku recreated his blade, and jammed it in Sora's previously injured shoulder. Sora let out a blood-curdling scream, but this only further incensed Ankoku. He pulled out the blade and kept ramming it back into various parts of his right arm relentlessly. He then brought the blade up to the neck of Sora, but lacked the arrogance that he had earlier.

"You know what?" Ankoku stated. "I'm sick and tired of dealing with you."

Ankoku took the blade up high.

"I'm going to finish this right now!" He screamed as he brought down the blade.

A blinding flash stopped Ankoku in his tracks. He rubbed his eyes, trying to regain his sight. A huge haymaker put him down. Sora looked around in a daze, but only saw a blur.

"Take it easy Sora, you've been corrupted." A familiar voice said to him.

"Yamato?" Sora called out bewildered.

"Yeah it's me." Yamato stated.

"I'm here too!" Roxas's voice called out.

"I can't believe you guys are here…after how I treated you Roxas…and how I lied to you…" Sora lamented.

"Jeez…mellow out man!" Roxas chided. "We had a fight…friends do it all the time!"

"But…I lied to Yamato about the fate of his people…" Sora rebutted.

"The past is the past son…don't dwell in it." Yamato said as he closed his eyes and held his hands over Sora.

A golden light emanated from Yamato's hands and pulsed over Sora's body, healing him of his corruption and healing the various injuries of his body. Sora tried to get up but pain still shot through his arm and leg.

"Best take it easy Sora, your arm isn't up to full strength…he got you pretty good." Yamato cautioned.

"I can't…Ankoku…" Sora started.

"Relax…I can take care of tall, dark, and ugly." Yamato assured Sora.

Roxas looked over at Ankoku, who was slowly regaining his sight, and was seething at this intrusion.

"Well…I would recommend that you hop to it, he looks pretty mad." Roxas pointed out, urging Yamato to battle.

Yamato stood up and called forth his golden Keyblade. He started to walk over to Ankoku, but Sora grabbed his leg. Yamato turned and looked down and the pain-stricken face of Sora. The two warriors locked eyes, the grizzled veteran and the young lion seemed to understand the other without a word spoken.

"Take him out." Sora finally uttered.

Yamato nodded, and then turned towards battle. Sora and Roxas watched as he walked with determination towards Ankoku. Ankoku ripped at his eyes, and turned towards the footsteps that were approaching him. He could make out the figure of Yamato. His rage boiled over.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!" He roared at Yamato.

"YOU RUINED MY CHANCE AT REVENGE!" Ankoku screamed, his eyes boring a hole through Yamato.

"I AM GOING TO TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB…AND THEN I'M GOING TO…" was all Ankoku was able to rant before Yamato slapped the taste out of Ankoku's mouth.

Ankoku raised his hand to where Yamato slapped him. His eyes burned even more as he turned back towards Yamato who was at the ready with his blade drawn.

"Enough talk…now we fight." Yamato said bluntly.

Ankoku seethed at Yamato, and was quick to draw his manifested blade. He took a stance as the two combatants stared each other down.

"Now…I shall destroy the last survivor of Animus…putting to rest the last remnants of that disgusting city!" Ankoku growled.

Yamato's eyes tensed up and his lipped curled up into a snarl. The mere mention of his lost home had struck a chord in him.

"Shut up and fight me!" He said with force.

Ankoku sneered, sensing the nerve struck.

"As you wish!" Ankoku said and tore into Yamato, who did the same.

_Back in the realm of light:_

"This party is going to be awesome!" Naminé shrieked with delight.

Anne and Kairi were busy setting up balloons and tables for the big graduation party in the park. They were just about finished but had some difficulty with a rather large table.

"This would be a lot easier if we had some help." Kairi said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"I suppose I can help out." Riku said, walking up to the group.

"Hey Riku!" Naminé greeted. "Where have you been all day?" She asked.

"Oh just helping Wakka set up that new television." Riku said, clearly fibbing.

"Oh right…the television…" Kairi said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Well whatever you were doing, would you mind helping us with the main table?" Anne ask, taking a seat.

"No problem!" Riku called out.

"Ok on three we lift…one…two…thre…?" Kairi said as she felt the table lift without her.

Riku had lifted the table and placed it down effortlessly.

"Wow…" Naminé said.

"Cool!" Kairi said.

Just then a small beep went off. Riku checked his cell phone. He quickly put the phone back in his pocket and turned to the three women.

"So…that's Wakka…must be something with the…television…" He stammered out.

"Oh really?" Kairi said with a smirk.

"Yeaah…so I gotta go…I'll see you at the party!" Riku said as he took off for Wakka's house.

The women watched him run off and then turned to each other with grins on their faces.

"He's lying!" They all blurted out at the same time.

The ladies shared a laugh and then continued to set up for the party.

**End of Chapter 12**

_Okay… the next chapter will be a long one so give me some time to get cracking on it. I hope to have it up by the end of April, but we shall see what my schedule brings. _

_Later ladies and gents! _


	14. A Battle is Waged

_Well! Here it is! After a little over a year chapter 13 is now finally up! I'm actually happy that I finally got around to knocking this chapter out. A couple of the legal stuff to get out of the way: I don't own anyone in this story with the exception of Ankoku, Yamato, Mako, Rei, Ami, and Anne. Everyone else is owned by Disney or Square-Enix! _

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 13: A Battle is Waged **

The two warriors stared each other down; their weapons drawn, each hesitant to make the first move. From the sidelines Roxas tended to the injured Sora, while watching the coming battle unfold. Ankoku had gotten over his murderous rage at being thwarted in his attempt to kill Sora, and seemingly relished the new challenge that stood in front of him.

"So…here to save the day eh?" Ankoku grinned. "How very noble of you…_your majesty_."

Yamato cringed at the mention of his royal title from so many years ago, something that Ankoku was quick to pick up on.

"Ooh, was that a nerve that I just touched?" Ankoku sneered. He peered over at Sora, who still seemed disoriented from the beating that Ankoku had just given him. He looked back at Yamato.

"Is that what this is about?" Ankoku asked motioning over to Yamato's injured comrade. "You think that by saving him, you will be able to do what you couldn't do all those years ago?" Ankoku chided.

Yamato stood firm, but it was clear that Ankoku's words were having an affect on him. Ankoku saw this and pressed on with his verbal onslaught.

"Well! By all means! Hail the savior!" Ankoku mocked, as he began circling Yamato. "The last king of Animus!" He bellowed, with a mock bow for added effect.

Yamato's lip curled up into a snarl, as he bore holes through Ankoku's skull. Ankoku paid no attention to any of this and continued his rant.

"You know Yamato…in my opinion there are three things that make a king." He said, still circling Yamato.

Yamato watched him put his blade away and causally stroke his hair. It was as if Ankoku was completely discrediting his skills as a swordsman.

"The first one is leadership." Ankoku began. "Did he do his people justice? Did he keep them safe? Did the kingdom thrive economically under his rule?" Ankoku asked rhetorically. "These are all questions that one asks when they judge how great a leader a ruler was." Ankoku said, turning and facing Yamato.

Ankoku smirked at Yamato, who remained unfazed by any of Ankoku's words up to this point. Ankoku looked at him, staring deeply into the eyes of Yamato. He wore a sick smile on his face, taking full pleasure in the way he was drilling Yamato with his words.

"I think it's safe to say that the people of Animus wouldn't rate you that highly…" Ankoku began. "If there were any of them still around to rate you that is!" He cackled.

Yamato wasn't laughing. The fate of his people was still a very sore spot for him, and knowing that he may have been the direct cause of its downfall wasn't sitting well with him. Ankoku paid no attention to any of this.

"The second thing is legacy." Ankoku continued with his list. "What great deed did that person accomplish?" What do people remember about him?" Ankoku once again asked rhetorical questions.

He looked over at Yamato with calm eyes.

"Why don't we analyze your legacy for a second…?" Ankoku said glancing at Yamato's Keyblade.

"The Keyblade bearer was a position of great honor in your society… was it not?" Ankoku asked Yamato, already knowing the answer. "The person that wields it is supposed to carry themselves with great honor and uphold the tradition of the blade." Ankoku pointed out. "Not only did you use your blade to bring the downfall of Animus, but you destroyed the prestige of the title Keyblade Master." Ankoku continued; each of his words a small dagger in the body of Yamato.

"Ask Sora how difficult it was for people to trust in the Keyblade again…" Ankoku stated coldly. "It was because of you that a once proud position…became disgraced."

Yamato had heard enough, but Ankoku wasn't finished. Ankoku looked up and finally saw the rage in Yamato. He grinned at the response that he was getting.

"But hey!" Ankoku suddenly cried out. "I have to admit…I kinda envy you…" Ankoku admitted. "You managed to do in one fell swoop, what Maleficent and I plotted to do for months!" He sneered.

Yamato never took his eyes off of Ankoku. His grip tightened on his blade.

"The last thing…is lineage." Ankoku said grinning. "Now…that's a word I'm sure you don't a definition for…" He continued. "It means family…and how your descendants carried themselves based off your teachings." Ankoku stated anyways.

Yamato clenched his fist and gnashed his teeth. If looks could kill Ankoku would have been deep sixed by now.

"However… I don't think you have to worry about that…" Ankoku snickered. "You know…with such high marks in all of the categories…it is an absolute wonder why your people overthrew your family." Ankoku scoffed.

Yamato's rage boiled over. Ankoku saw this and went for the final blow.

"Of course…had they not executed your family…I'm sure your family would have died from the shame of being related to you…" Ankoku finished.

Yamato lunged at Ankoku with his blade ready. Ankoku smirked and quickly drew his blade again in preparation to defend against the onslaught.

_Destiny Island_:

Balloons and streamers adorned the town square as the brilliant summer sun slowly went down over Destiny City. Light pop music was playing, as a gentle breeze moved in from Destiny Island. Kairi's graduation party was in full swing, and many of her friends had been able to make it in for the festivities. Olette, Pence, and Hayner were all there, each with various news and updates. Pence had started some summer courses and his inventions were wowing most of his professors. He was originally going for civil engineering, but some of his professors were trying to convince him to go into aeronautical engineering. The biggest surprise however was the revelation that Hayner and Olette were going to be parents. Upon first glance, you wouldn't have been able to tell, as Olette was only a month in, but the way she carried herself, indicated that she was showing a motherly instinct. While this wasn't intended, it was still something that both Hayner and Olette were greatly looking forward to…and they couldn't have been happier.

The Radiant Garden gang also made the long trek to Destiny City for the event as well. They brought the news that Yuffie was pregnant, and due sometime in the winter. There seemed to be a small bit of jealously in Aerith at this, but she was satisfied with the diamond engagement ring that Cloud had given her and the knowledge that one day she would have her own child. Tidus and his new girlfriend Yuna had made the trip as well. Tidus had been drafted #1 over-all by Radiant Garden, and had signed several major endorsement deals. He had met Yuna during one of his public appearances at the children's hospital. She was a singer, and they quickly became inseparable. There was some concern over how this would affect Selphie, but there were no problems upon their initial meeting; considering that Selphie was now dating a new guy by the name of Irvine. The reigning WBL MVP Wakka was also there, with his new girlfriend Lulu.

The King, Queen, Donald, Goofy, and everyone else from Disney Castle were unfortunately unable to make the trip. Donald and Daisy had their hands full with their new baby, and word on the street was that King Mickey was hard at work getting the Worlds Council to approve new measures for security. Riku had been going back and forth between Destiny City and Disney Castle a lot recently. Apparently there were a lot of various activities going on in the World that Never Was. Riku assured everyone that it was nothing major, but given the recent events, everyone was a bit skeptical. Kairi was sitting off to the side enjoying herself with a nice cool drink.

"Kairi this is a wonderful party!" A female voice called out to her.

Kairi turned to see where the voice was emanating from. A girl, about her late teens, early twenties, was walking up to her. She was fair skinned with middle length black hair. Her eyes were soft, one green and the other was blue. She wore an outfit with contrasting blues; she wore a silver frilled navy blue blouse, which was cut up the middle, laced together with black lace. She wore a metallic blue and silver frilly skirt that cut off at the knee. Brown leather boots and matching navy fabric gauntlets completed the ensemble.

"Thank you Yuna!" Kairi responded, smiling at Tidus's new girlfriend.

"It's just sooo nice to be able to relax and not worry about paparazzi or anything like that!" Yuna sighed. "It seems like ever since Tidus and I started dating, we haven't had a break!" She bemoaned.

Kairi nodded in understanding.

"Well...you are a pop star, and Tidus is a popular blitz ball player..." Kairi pointed out.

"Yes, but the whole fame and fortune thing...it's nice at first but it drains on you..." Yuna explained. "I never grew up in the limelight...I grew up on a small island with maybe a hundred people, so this whole big city life is a new thing for me." She said glancing around at the small city. "In fact, this is bigger than anything on my island!" She said.

Kairi smiled. She personally had loved the big city atmosphere of Radiant Garden. All the restaurants, shops, and events that the city held were fascinating to her. However, she was merely a tourist; to be hounded by paparazzi had to be draining.

"If it's so rough...then why not just quit? I'm sure you've made quite a bit of money in your career..." Kairi asked.

Yuna smiled.

"I do it for the music...its my passion." Yuna said, almost serenely. "In song...I can share all of my feelings, my hopes, and my desires." She said again, closing her eyes, imagining herself on stage. "When the lights come down and all my fans are cheering, I just get a rush, like no other feeling that I have ever felt before..." She said before opening her eyes.

A light pink blush formed under her cheek. She glanced over at Tidus, who was showing off some blitz ball skills to Riku and Hayner.

"Well...almost every feeling." She giggled.

Kairi followed her gaze, and laughed heartily. The two continued to chat off in the corner; little did they realize that they were being watched by a pair in the distance. Selphie was watching the two intently. Unbeknownst to Selphie she was also being watched by Naminé.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Naminé asked, startling Selphie.

"I said hi..." Selphie trailed off, still continuing her watch of Yuna and Kairi's conversation.

"You don't have to dislike her...she's actually really nice!" Naminé stated.

"I'm sure she is..." Selphie stated bluntly.

Naminé sighed.

"Look...I know you aren't happy that they are dating...but is it really her fault?" Naminé asked. "I mean...she didn't know you, and I think if there is anyone that you should be mad at for jumping right back into dating its Tidus." Naminé pointed out.

Selphie didn't say anything. Naminé looked over to where Tidus was, and found him talking very cheerfully to another teenage boy. They appeared to be engaged in a lively conversation and were seemingly enjoying each others company. He was rather tall, thin boy, with soft brown eyes and shoulder length brown hair to match it. He wore a pair of ripped up boot cut jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a cowboy hat. A silver necklace draped from his neck. Naminé turned back to Selphie.

"Is that Irvine over there talking to Tidus?" Naminé asked.

Selphie's head immediately whipped around, fearing the worst, but was surprised to see them getting along. There didn't appear to be the tiniest bit of jealously in his body. Naminé saw Selphie's shocked expression and smiled.

"See? He's not bitter about Irvine being here!" Naminé exclaimed.

Selphie turned back to Naminé, and seemed to ponder all of this. She looked back over towards Kairi and Yuna. She sighed and stood up. She turned to Naminé and gave her a look of submission. She then walked over to Kairi and Yuna, who both smiled and eagerly chatted up the new entrant to their conversation. Naminé watched Selphie start slowly at first but soon was freely chatting with both of them. Olette saw them all chatting and soon joined in, and was quickly joined by Lulu. Naminé smiled and approached them all as well. Selphie caught Naminé out of the corner of her eye. Naminé smiled an "I told you so" smile, which was returned with a rolling of the eyes. Naminé laughed and happily joined in the conversation. Over on the other side of the party, all the guys were conversing about the large object that Wakka and Riku had obtained for the party.

"Do you think that Kairi and the girls will like the karaoke machine?" Tidus asked.

"I don't have any doubt that they will…but I'm not sure if we are going to like it…" Hayner said.

"Why is that?" Irvine asked.

"Well…Olette…isn't the greatest singer…its…its awful really…" Hayner admitted.

"The thing about it is that she thinks that she's really good…" Pence added.

"Did either of you ever tell her that she's not that good?" Riku asked.

"No…she'd kill me!" Hayner cried.

The group shared a laugh. All of a sudden, there was a beeping that interrupted the conversation. Riku looked down at his special communicator watch. His expression turned to one of slight disappointment.

"That's King Mickey…he needs me to head over to the castle…" Riku said, bummed slightly.

"Aw…you'll miss the surprise yah?" Wakka asked.

"Yeah…hopefully someone here will record it for me." Riku stated as he excused himself.

He walked over to where the girls were chatting. Kairi saw him approaching and smiled.

"Hey Riku!" She said cheerfully. "Why the long face?"

Riku smiled.

"I just got a communication from Disney Castle…King Mickey needs me for something." Riku said.

Kairi's smile drooped a little.

"You have to leave now?" She said, slightly disappointed.

"The party was just getting started…" Naminé said, also a little down.

"I know…but something is going on in the World that Never Was and he needs me to check it out." Riku stated.

Kairi sighed.

"Alright…be careful." She said.

"I always do!" He said cheerfully as he raced off.

The rest of the party continued, but Kairi watched him leave and couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

_In the Dark Realm:_

Surprisingly, at least in Ankoku's eyes, the battle was fairly even. In Ankoku's prior dealings with Sora, he was forced to deal with somebody who was younger, faster, and more resilient than he was. The difference between Yamato and Sora was easily the speed. At Yamato's advanced age there was no way that he was going to be quicker than Sora, but he made up for it with a vast amount of experience. As the two battled back and forth, their blades repeatedly crashing against each other, Ankoku was shocked to see that Yamato was able to keep up with him, and seemed to anticipate his movements. Yamato seemed to give no indication that he was fighting in a rage. His movements were crisp and calculated. Ankoku slowly realized that this was not the cake walk that he had envisioned. Yamato kept up the attack and it was Ankoku who was slowly finding it difficult to deflect Yamato's attacks. His sporadic attempts at offense were becoming increasingly desperate. Yamato attacked again, attempting to pierce his opponent with horizontal slashes and stabs, but Ankoku was barely able to dodge them. Ankoku then tried to counter, but upon missing with his attacks, his frustration boiled over. He let out a cry and unleashed a powerful slash at Yamato's abdomen. Yamato was just able to get out of the way, but the slashes continued to rain down on him. After the third or fourth one, Yamato decided on a counter. Ankoku once again brought another slash towards his abdomen, but Yamato was quick to duck under it. Ankoku let out a small cry of surprise as he was upended by a leg sweep from Yamato.

Ankoku crashed to the ground, and Yamato was quickly back on his feet. He tried to bring his saber down on Ankoku, but Ankoku was too fast and moved out of the way. Yamato's blade pierced the soft earth and lodged into it. Ankoku contorted his body and unleashed a powerful kip up that actually sent him over Yamato to his backside. Ankoku went for a quick strike to Yamato's neck but Yamato had successfully retrieved his blade and blocked the attack, while still with his back to Ankoku. Ankoku, surprised by this latest counter, didn't see Yamato's right elbow crash backwards into his face. Ankoku screamed in agony as his nose throbbed, broken by the blow. Ankoku staggered backwards trying to see through the pain and stars that were blurring his vision. He caught a glimpse of Yamato running up to spear him with the blade. Ankoku timed it right and jumped up with a flip. He whirled around upon landing, expecting to see Yamato's back, but was stunned to find not a trace of him. He turned back around and was met with a hard right cross on the bridge of his shattered nose. Ankoku screamed in pain again, clutching his nose. Yamato wasted no time delivering a huge knee to the gut, taking the air out of Ankoku, and grabbing Ankoku by the hair and slamming his battered face into Yamato's knee. Ankoku staggered back, his face turning puffy from the damage that had been done. Yamato wasn't through though and unleashed a slash that caught Ankoku on the abdomen. Ankoku roared in anguish, and flew upwards into the sky, before settling on a branch, a considerable distance away.

"YOU BASTARD!" Ankoku screamed, as he felt his deep wound across his stomach.

Dark liquid was seeping from the cut at an alarming rate. Ankoku snarled at Yamato as he held a hand over his wound. Slowly the wound closed, at which point he shifted his hand to his bruised face. Slowly the puffiness went away and his nose realigned. Once this was done, he looked back down at Yamato who was in a determined stance.

"Damn!" Ankoku thought to himself. "Why am I not stronger than he is!" He wondered to himself.

He was in the Dark Realm where he did possess enhanced abilities that allowed him to decimate Sora, but for some reason Yamato was not only able to keep up with his attacks, but to do serious damage to him.

"Time to switch up the tactics…" He thought to himself.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Sora, still woozy from his earlier assault.

"Perfect!" He thought to himself.

He quickly recalled his blade.

"Well done!" He called out to Yamato. "Truly you are a master of the blade!"

Yamato said nothing in return, eyeing Ankoku intently and waiting for the next assault. Ankoku smirked.

"I may not be able to match your swordplay…but let's see who will win out when I bring forth someone of equal skill!" Ankoku said, holding out his hand.

A blackish-purple glow emanated from his hand, and Yamato watched a gooey ball of ooze rise up from the ground in front of him. It twisted and contorted in the air, until it formed an exact duplicate of Yamato. Yamato's clone quickly went on the assault, forcing Yamato to be on the defensive.

_Destiny City:_

The party was still in full swing, even as the clock rapidly approached the midnight hour. All the adults had broken open the booze, and some were having a bit more fun than others…namely Wakka. Still everyone was having a good time and chatting. Hayner and Tidus walked up to the slightly inebriated Wakka.

"H-hic-Heyyyyy!" Wakka said, waving to his friends.

"Hey Wakka…" Tidus said, laughing at his sloshed friend.

"Hey drunkie!" Hayner began. "We need to get the surprise…" He finished.

Wakka pondered what he said for a moment, as if he was trying to rattle the thought around in his brain. Finally it came to him.

"OH YEAH!" He screamed, so everyone in the city could hear.

Hayner and Tidus looked around and saw everyone looking at them. Tidus rubbed his head sheepishly. Hayner gave a meek smile, before quickly turning back around to Wakka.

"Quiet ya lush!" Hayner scolded his friend. "Now where is it?"

Wakka pointed out to the back.

"It's out there yah?" He slurred.

Hayner and Tidus quickly walked back towards where Wakka pointed. Immediately questions began to arise, as people looked at Wakka for answers.

"S-Shhhh" Wakka stammered out. "It's a surprise for Kairi yah?"

This only served to further the questions. Wakka did his best to quell the questioning, but it wasn't until the duo came back with the karaoke machine that people finally realized what was up.

"Alright!" Olette squealed upon seeing the machine.

"Thanks a lot guys!" Kairi said, running up to Wakka and giving him a hug.

"It was Riku's idea…" Tidus stated.

"He got this all together yah?" Wakka stammered out.

"We should have a contest!" Naminé suddenly chimed in.

"That's a great idea Naminé!" Selphie added.

"I can be a judge!" Yuna offered.

"So can I!" Anne volunteered.

"Well…I'm not much of a singer…but I can judge." Irvine said.

"Alright it sounds like a plan then!" Hayner said. "Once we get this up and running… we will start it off!"

"Alright this is going to be so much fun!" Kairi squealed with delight.

_Back in the Dark Realm:_

The clone was giving Yamato a nice challenge, but Yamato was still able to stay one step ahead of it. From his perch, high atop a tree, Ankoku watched the proceedings. He wasn't surprised that the clone wasn't doing the job; Yamato was too good a swordsman. What he needed to do was to up the ante, and make it a little bit tougher. With that thought process concluded, Ankoku held out his hand again, much as he did before. Similar to before, another clone sprung up from behind Yamato. Yamato was able to realize that he had another opponent to deal with at the last moment, and went back on the defensive. Ankoku watched the proceedings this time with a thin smile on his face.

"That's better…" He thought to himself as he watched Yamato defend against the two clones.

The battle intensified with Yamato constantly defending against the onslaught of the two clones. He never could catch a break as the clones would alternate attacks, making any kind of a breather a rare occurrence. Yamato started to slow down, and that's when the clones made their move. A bombardment of double team attacks left Yamato barely able to block some of their shots. Yamato still was holding his own which again caused Ankoku some agitation. With the clones still unable to land any blows, Ankoku decided to take matters into his own hands. Ankoku held up his hands, and unbeknownst to Yamato, black tentacles shot up around him. They latched to different parts of his body, rendering him unable to do anything. With Yamato incapacitated, the clones went to work with their fists and feet. They pummeled Yamato with kicks and peppered him with lefts and rights. Strangely they didn't use their blades, but that was due to Ankoku holding them back.

"After-all…" He thought to himself. "Why should the clones have all the fun?"

The beatings continued, and Ankoku slowly made his way down from the tree. Yamato was grabbed by the jaw and held up by the two clones to watch Ankoku's movement. Ankoku snickered at Yamato and causally made his way over to the fallen Sora. Yamato saw what was going on and struggled to break free of the grip. A quick shot to the jaw squashed that attempt. Ankoku slowly approached Sora and Roxas, who could do nothing to defend themselves. Roxas hovered above Sora, in an effort to protect him but Ankoku just laughed and walked right through him. He grabbed Sora by the throat and held him aloft. Sora writhed in the grip of Ankoku and tried mightily to break free. Ankoku laughed at the fruitless effort. He looked over at Yamato, who watched on with a worried expression. Ankoku sneered at Yamato, and held out his hand to Sora. Yamato's eyes grew wide. Ankoku said nothing, but a purplish black aura seemed to grow out of his hand.

"NO!" Yamato cried out.

He mustered all the strength that he had and broke away from the grasp of the clones and was somehow able to snap a tentacle. He called forth his Keyblade. A massive, quick spin attack spelled the end of the clones. He slashed at the remaining tentacles and flew over to Ankoku who was ready to unleash an energy blast in the face of Sora. Yamato raised his weapon to attack Ankoku, but it was a trap. As soon as Yamato got close enough to Ankoku, Ankoku dropped Sora, and crushed Yamato with a clothesline. Yamato slammed hard to the ground and his Keyblade flew from his hand. Yamato staggered back to his feet, woozy from the brutal takedown. Ankoku wasted no time taking the advantage with three left jabs, a hard right cross, and a devastating sidekick to send him to the ground. Ankoku then pounced on Yamato and started wailing away with lefts and rights. Roxas watched, helpless to do anything. Sora was still unable to see, rendering him unable to fight. Ankoku lifted Yamato up by his throat, and threw him away from Sora. Ankoku slowly began stalking the writhing Yamato. He stopped for a second and turned back to Roxas and Sora.

"Don't worry, I'll be dealing with you soon enough!" He sneered.

Yamato slowly dragged himself to his feet, facing away from Ankoku. Ankoku promptly walked right up to him and landed a hard forearm to the back of Yamato's skull. Pain shot through Yamato's body as he fell to the ground. Ankoku wasn't finished though, as he began stomping away at Yamato, taking great pleasure in every kick. Ankoku then raised his hand, which was pulsing with energy. Black tentacles shot up from the ground again lifting Yamato up in the air. Ankoku twisted his hand, and the tentacles contorted so that Yamato now was face to face with Ankoku. He grinned as he looked at Yamato, who was near unconscious.

"Be honest…did you really think that you would be able to defeat me?" Ankoku laughed. "You never stood a chance!" Ankoku sneered.

Ankoku then waved his arm violently. The tentacles then chucked Yamato towards the nearest tree. Yamato flew back, smashed through the tree, and landed against a rock. Yamato's body crumpled to the ground, and laid there unmoving. Ankoku smiled, dusted his hands off, and slowly trotted over to the fallen Yamato. Yamato staggered to his feet. As Ankoku drew closer, Yamato threw a desperation shot. He lunged at Ankoku with his right, however Ankoku side stepped him and brought his knee crashing into Yamato's gut. Yamato's eyes bulged out of their sockets. Yamato fell to the ground gasping for air. Ankoku smiled at this.

"Well I must be honest…I'm actually getting tired from beating on you!" He chuckled.

He watched Yamato slowly start to crawl away from him.

"Aw…are you trying to get away?" He mockingly asked. "Well…we simply can't have that!" He stated.

He examined Yamato as he crawled, and slowly walked up to him.

"Let's see now…" He began. "I guess your legs should be the first thing to go!" He said as he grabbed one of Yamato's ankles and began twisting it.

Yamato screamed out in pain. Roxas cringed as he watched this. Sora could only hear what was going on, but was rubbing his eyes furiously to regain his sight. Ankoku continued to twist the ankle, taking great pleasure in the pain he was inflicting. Finally he stood and dropped the ankle. Yamato tried to reach for his ankle, trying to do anything that he could to alleviate the pain. Ankoku saw this and snickered.

"Sorry!" He exclaimed. "But we can't have that!" He said as he brought his foot down full force on Yamato's ankle.

There was a sickening snap, and Yamato felt pain shoot up from his leg through his body. He screamed in agony. Ankoku laughed. He watched Yamato crawl away from him. He looked up to see where he was crawling to, and saw that he was heading towards Sora and Roxas.

"Aw…what's wrong; you miss your friends?" Ankoku chided. "Well…I was going to reunite you with them once I had killed you…but I suppose watching them die will work too!" He concluded as he raised his hand to deliver the killing stroke.

A black ball appeared from Ankoku's hand.

"Well, it looks like for once, evil triumphs over good!" Ankoku stated as the ball got bigger.

Yamato turned around and saw this.

"No…" Yamato thought to himself.

"GOODBYE!" Ankoku said as he launched the ball towards Sora.

Roxas saw this and closed his eyes knowing what would happen. Sora's sight was slowly returning to him. He opened his eyes, and was shocked to see Yamato in the air, having somehow completely ignored the pain that shot through his shattered ankle. He caught Yamato's gaze, which was almost serene, as if he had accepted his fate. He smiled at Sora, who watched the proceedings in horror. Sora watched Ankoku's black ball smash Yamato right in the back, and how Yamato's body convulsed in the air. Sora watched, horrified, as Yamato crashed to the turf, motionless.

"YAMATO!" Sora screamed as he scrambled over to his fallen friend.

Ankoku watched the scene with great glee. He watched Sora shake Yamato's body, trying desperately to get a sign of life. He grinned even more at the realization that there was nothing that Sora could do to help. Sora looked up from Yamato's motionless body with murderous eyes. He laid Yamato down and took his battle stance. He called forth his Keyblade, and stood in front of Yamato's fallen body. Ankoku saw this and laughed. He raised both his hands, and his eyes flashed red. More pulses came from his hands, and a loud rumble shook the ground. Sora watched as a small army of Sora clones sprang up around him. Sora's face hardened.

"There are at least twenty of them…" He said grimly to himself.

Ankoku rose up in the air above his battalion of clones. He laughed as he looked down at his concerned adversary.

"I told you before, and it looks like your friend had to learn the hard way!" Ankoku chortled. "This is MY realm…and you can't ever hope to defeat me!" He finished.

Roxas floated up to Sora.

"How are you going to fight them Sora?" Roxas whispered. "I don't like the chances here." He said, confiding to his friend.

Sora didn't take his eyes off of Ankoku.

"I know Roxas." Sora admitted to his friend. "But I don't have much of a choice…"

_Destiny Island:_

The karaoke machine was an instant hit among the party goers with everyone belting out their favorite song. The Twilight Town folks tried their hand at singing, but were for the most part unsuccessful as was such with the folks from Radiant Garden. The judges were polite for the most part; really the only bad review was Wakka's drunken rambling. Still everyone was having fun. As everyone took their turn, the one who hadn't sang yet was Kairi. She watched all her friends go up and give their all, but she seemed to be waiting for something. Finally after the last person had gone, Irvine stood up and asked if there was anyone else who wanted to go. Kairi stood up and nodded. Kairi said nothing but caught Namine's gaze. Naminé gave her a smile, and Kairi returned it. Kairi got up from her seat and slowly walked up to the machine, as everyone watched her. She selected a song, and waited for the lyrics to start. As the melody overtook her she began to sing.

_You walked with me, footprints in the sand  
And helped me understand where I'm going  
You walked with me when I was all alone  
With so much I know along the way  
Then I heard you say  
_  
_I promise you, I'm always there  
When your heart is filled with sorrow and despair  
I'll carry you when you need a friend  
You'll find my footprints in the sand_

**(This next part will rotate between the light and dark realms: Author's Note)**

Sora and Roxas stood firm against Ankoku and his army, but the odds were not looking good. Ankoku was powered up, and he had twenty Sora clones to boot. It seemed an impossible task. As he pondered his first move, a relaxing feeling slowly came over him. It was slow at first, but the sensation continued to grow, and soon it was accompanied by a heavenly voice.

_I see my life flash across the sky  
So many times have I been so afraid_

Naminé began to sing as well, and floated up to Kairi who smiled at her nobody as the two continued the song.

_And just when I have thought I lost my way  
You give me strength to carry on  
That's when I heard you say_

Ankoku was slightly baffled. Something was happening around him. He saw one of the trees start to vanish, and then noticed a few rocks did as well.

"What the hell?" He wondered aloud.

Sora and Roxas paid no attention to any of this. There were in a trance, completely succumbing to the sirens that were calling them with their song. The voices were beautiful, and they had a warm and inviting feel to them. Roxas had his eyes closed, and his mouth was turned into a grin.

"Sora…" He stated peacefully. "I hear Naminé…"

_I promise you, I'm always there  
When your heart is filled with sorrow and despair  
And I'll carry you when you need a friend  
You'll find my footprints in the sand_

The girls prepared themselves for the big crescendo.

_When I'm weary, well, I know you'll be there  
And I can feel you when you say_

_I promise you, I'm always there  
When your heart is filled with sadness and despair  
I'll carry you when you need a friend  
You'll find my footprints in the sand_

"Kairi…" Sora breathed, intoxicated by the song.

Sora felt a strange sensation, different from the heavenly one before. Roxas was apparently going through a similar one as he began to convulse as if ten thousand volts of electricity was coursing through his body. This feeling washed over them, enveloping them with a golden light. Sora's Oathkeeper Keyblade was glowing with its own pure white light as well. Ankoku was freaking out by this point.

"MY ILLUSION!" He bellowed as he watched the remaining trees, rocks and even his clones vanish as the golden light glowed brighter.

Yamato's hut faded away, and in place of all the forestry, waves and a sandy beach replaced it. The moon peeked out over the clouds; as Ankoku watched his illusion completely fade away. Sora and Roxas opened their eyes as the light dissipated. They were stunned to see Destiny Island's dark side where the forest once stood.

"We…we are here…" Sora stammered.

"Home…" Roxas said, looking over at Sora.

Roxas was stunned by what he saw. Sora had changed, his hair had silver streaks in it now, and he wore the clothes of his final form, only this time it had a golden trim to it. There were some slight modifications, most notably the silver heart that appeared on his forehead. He was floating and there was a white aura around him. His eyes had changed from their ocean blue and were white. His keyblade underwent a transformation as well, now looking like a cross between the Ultima Keyblade and Kairi's Keyblade. The hilt of the blade was white with gold trim, and formed a heart. A similar design to the Ultima Keyblade made up the shaft of the new blade, only the color scheme was sliver and white. The blade seemed to form half of a heart, which was jagged on the edge. The blade was sliver with a gold trim. Sora was also dual wielding. Roxas was stunned.

"Sora…you look different…" Roxas stated.

Sora looked over and was shocked to see Roxas's transformation. He matched Sora for the most part except his color scheme was black and silver. Everything from the heart on the head to the Keyblade was the same, with the only differences being the end of Roxas's Keyblade having three spikes for the blade, there were streaks of jet black through his hair, and instead of white eyes; Roxas's eyes were silver. However in spite of all this Sora was more stunned about something else.

"Roxas…you're whole…" Sora stammered.

Roxas looked down and was shocked to see not only his changes, but that he was in fact whole again. He felt his body, from the fingers to his blade in his hands. He looked up out over the water.

"Naminé?" He wondered. "Did you do this?"

_I promise you, I'm always there  
When your heart is full of sadness and despair  
I'll carry you when you need a friend  
You'll find my footprints in the sand…_

The song ended and the crowd sat there in stunned silence. Kairi paid no attention to the shocked looks that people gave her and Naminé, opting to glance up at the stars above. For a fleeting moment, she felt whole again, as if Sora was standing behind her. She felt warm, like she was in the midst of an embrace. She gazed into the night sky, fixated on a particular star. She watched the star began to shoot across the night's sky. She closed her eyes.

"Come home Sora..." She said softly.

Naminé caught this and smiled. She too felt warm, as memories of Roxas flooded her brain.

"You too Roxas..." She said quietly.

The warmth was soon replaced with applause and congratulations from her friends and family. Everyone was lauding her performance, with some of the girls moved to tears. The result was a no brainer as Kairi & Naminé split the prize. As Kairi went back to her seat, she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and saw that Riku had sent her a text message.

_Hope you like the surprise!  
_  
Kairi smiled, and texted back:

_Thank you so much! It was wonderful! Is everything ok?  
_  
She waited a few minutes before she felt the phone vibrate again.

_Nothing I can't handle! Everything's fine.  
_  
Kairi had some concern, but she trusted Riku's ability. Soon some of her friends joined her and they continued to party until the wee hours of the morning.

_Back in the Realm of Darkness_

Even more shocking then their recent transformations, was the bright white light that shot out in the distance. Sora recognized the source of it immediately.

"That's the door!" He cried. "That's the door to home!"

Roxas and Sora were ecstatic. They had journeyed for so long and had worked so hard and now the end was in sight. Before the celebrated too much, a murderous roar brought them back to reality. They glared at Ankoku, who's eyes were flashing red, and he looked ready to blow his top.

"THIS IS MY REALM!" He screamed at the transformed duo. "HOW DARE YOU DESTROY MY ILLUSIONS!"

"Illusions?" Roxas asked, confused.

"All of this..." Sora said. "He tried to trick us by contorting the darkness; he tried to break our spirit..." Sora explained.

"Your spirit is not the only thing I'm going to break!" Ankoku bellowed.

His eyes flashed red, and soon he was dual-wielding his blade. He fired two dark energy balls at Sora and Roxas, but the aura that surrounded them dissipated the blasts before they even reached them. Sora and Roxas stood firm, the spirit of a warrior firmly planted in their attitude. Sora looked down at Yamato. He had given himself up in order to save Sora from a potentially fatal attack. Sora's eyes hardened, fixated on Ankoku.

"I will avenge you Yamato!" Sora said to himself.

Ankoku screamed again, this time amping his power up to the max. Sora and Roxas got their blades ready and adopted their battle stance. The final battle between good and evil; was about to begin.

**End of Chapter 13**

_Wow! What a way to return to writing! This was a massive chapter all things considered, but I am actually pleased with how it came out! The song in this chapter is called Footsteps in the Sand and it is by Leona Lewis off her Spirit album. So whoever owns that song that is who it is copyrighted for! Well we only have a few more chapters to go with this story, so hopefully you guys will stick around for the remainder! I promise that it won't take a year for the next one! Chapter 14 should hopefully be up later this month or early July at the latest as long as nothing pops up. Until then take it easy!_


	15. A Hero's Call

_Wow! It's the chapter that is two years into the making! I must say that it is quite difficult to start righting something, and then stop, only to pick it back up again. To put this in perspective, I finished the first installment in a summer, and this one is now going on 5 years! I will promise everyone that I will not take as long with the next chapter. As always if you recognize any of the characters, they are owned by either Disney or Square-Enix. All others are mine! Please read and review! _

**Chapter 14: A Hero's Call**

The two warriors stared down their dark adversary with revenge for their fallen comrade clearly on their minds. Sora and Roxas, who was now whole again, hovered slightly off the ground, as the wind whipped up rapidly. On the opposite end Ankoku was seething. His illusions were gone, his entire façade, was vaporized by some unseen force. Now the path to the world of light lay out in the open, offering a way for his playthings of the last few months to escape back to their own realm. Still, the aspect that upset him the most was that he had been compromised. He vowed to himself to not be embarrassed by Sora again. Roxas glanced over at his partner.

"Let's finish this and get back home." Roxas said, with an authoritative tone.

"Agreed." Sora said, not for a second taking his eyes off the enraged Ankoku.

Sora wanted to end this as quickly as possible. He wasn't sure how badly Yamato was hurt, nor did he want to risk him getting further injured by not getting him help in time. He noticed that he was seemingly stronger than the first time he and Ankoku clashed in the Forbidden World; however, he was still in Ankoku's backyard where Ankoku's power was clearly amplified. The wild card was that Roxas was now whole, and thus a valuable weapon to be used in the coming battle. It also was apparent to Sora that Roxas's power had increased as well. Sora had only faced off with Roxas once before, but Roxas shared much of Sora's skill, making him a very dangerous fighter. Sora turned his attention back to Ankoku, who wasted little time in creating more of the clone duplicates of Sora to help even the playing field. Ankoku snarled at the two combatants as his eyes flashed as they normally did when he was angered.

"DIE!" Ankoku screamed out, breaking the silence.

At his command, the newly created clones rushed forth to attack. Sora and Roxas adopted their fighting stances as the clones charged at them. Sora was quickly analyzing the situation, trying to find the best solution to take out the vast clone army that was fast approaching them. As the calculations went through his head, he was snapped to attention by a voice from beside him.

"Sora! Hold your hand out!" Roxas yelled over to him.

Sora was unsure of what his friend had planned, but nevertheless obliged him. As the two warriors stretched their hands out, a white hot ball of energy formed in their hands. They stared down the waves of clones that were barreling down on them. The energy masses grew larger and larger to the point that Sora wondered if he could hold it much longer.

"Wait for it..." Roxas said, seemingly sensing Sora's willingness to dispel the ball.

Sora held on a bit more, but the ball kept getting larger, and with every passing second the clones got closer and the ball got more difficult to control.

"Roxas..." Sora said, the concern in his voice rising.

"Not yet!" Roxas said with a little more base in his voice.

By this point, the clones were practically on top of them. Roxas had made no movement towards telling Sora what to do. One of the clones had actually gotten close enough to reach out and take a swipe at Sora. With his other hand, Sora managed to slash at the clone with his Keyblade, decapitating it with one strike. Sora had waited enough, and was about to let his friend know it.

"ROXAS!" Sora yelled at Roxas.

Roxas opened his eyes.

"NOW!" He screamed and fired the blast at half of the army.

Sora followed suit, and then watched in amazement as the ball cut through the army like a hot knife through butter. The clones all but disintegrated upon the energy touching them. When the balls made their way through the army and towards Ankoku, he had to quickly create a shield to deflect it, and even with that shield he still took some damage. Everyone was in shock. Sora looked over at Roxas in amazement.

"How did you know that would work?" Sora asked, dumbfounded.

Roxas smiled at him.

"I didn't! But it was cool right?" Roxas said with a grin.

Sora looked at him like he was an idiot.

"One of these days I'm going to hit you...hard." Sora stated.

Roxas merely laughed at the suggestion. One person who wasn't enjoying the banter between the two friends was their opponent, Ankoku. He seethed at the jovial manner that they were talking, as if he was a joke. A loud roar emerged from his mouth, snapping the two from their discussion.

"You dare disrespect me!" Ankoku screamed.

He started rapidly firing off small blasts of energy that forced Roxas and Sora to dodge them and go on the defensive. They dodged the blasts with relative ease thanks to their enhanced speed. However, they weren't accomplishing much by constantly running around, so Sora devised a plan.

"Roxas! Follow my lead!" Sora called out.

Roxas nodded, and swung out to his left, avoiding a blast. Sora meanwhile stopped moving and planted his feet squarely facing Ankoku, his Keyblade at the ready. Ankoku fired off a couple rounds of dark energy at Sora, but was stunned when Sora hit them right back at them with his Keyblade. Ankoku threw up his shield once again to block the rebound attack. He was able to do this, but it left him open for Roxas to sneak up behind him. A leg sweep put Ankoku down on the ground staring up at the sky. Ankoku was dazed, but could just make out the image of Sora coming down at him with his blade thrust down. Ankoku quickly threw up his shield once again, and was just in the nick of time. Ankoku looked up in horror as he realized that Sora's charged up Keyblade had pierced through his armor, and was centimeters from his face. Before Ankoku had time to process his next move, Sora was gone, and Roxas was over him, with a white ball of energy about to be unleashed. Ankoku roared as Roxas let the ball fly. There was a flash, a bang, and then a huge cloud of smoke. The two warriors retreated to a safe distance to see what damage their tandem moves had caused. As the smoke cleared, they saw that Ankoku was standing, but breathing heavily. A cut had opened up above his right eye and was bleeding down into his eye. His clothing was ripped, and cuts were all over his left arm, but the biggest injury, was the fact that Ankoku was missing his right arm. He stared at the two Keyblade wielders, and for the first time, he seemed unsure of how to attack them. He had tried a direct assault, and that failed; and he was slowly realizing that he couldn't match power with them.

"The way things are right now, they have me out gunned and out numbered." He thought to himself, as he wiped some of the blood out of his eye.

He peered past Sora and Roxas, and noticed the portal to the world of light shining brightly. He could sense that the reason his opponents' power was amplified was from the portal, but the exact reason he didn't know. What he did know is that Sora and Roxas would eventually try and make a run for the portal and he could not let that happen.

"Time to switch things up." He murmured to himself. "If I can somehow get to that portal, I could close it up from the outside, trapping them here and having the worlds to myself." He concluded.

He closed his eyes and channeled his energy and focused it over on the right side of his body. A dark ooze leaked out of the hole where his arm used to be. He focused even harder and the soft ooze formed into a synthetic arm. Ankoku focused back on the task at hand. He quickly got to work, launching numerous blasts of powerful dark energy attacks at the Keyblade warriors. Roxas and Sora dodged them fairly easily, but the constant barrage of attacks prevented them from launching any kind of counter-attack. The bombardment continued, keeping Sora and Roxas at bay, all the while Ankoku was inching closer to the shoreline, and the portal. Sora and Roxas continued to dodge the attacks, looking for any sign of an opening that they could exploit, but the rapid fire of Ankoku's attacks stopped that idea dead in its tracks. Sora dodged, and twisted his body around, looking for some kind of opening and found it. A blast of dark energy was coming right at him, and took a swing at it. The blast ricocheted off of his Keyblade and flew back at Ankoku, who was completely unprepared for it. The blast nailed Ankoku right in the left shoulder. He cried out in pain, clutching his wounded area. Once again, he realized that he was going to have to switch up his plan again. He summoned as much dark energy that he could into his good arm and fired off a big blast at the two of them. The duo had barely a second to get out of the way, but they were able to by the skin of their teeth. When they looked up, they were stunned to find Ankoku gone. They turned their attention over to the portal where they saw Ankoku racing towards it.

"Roxas! He's going for the portal!" Sora screamed.

"I'm on it!" Roxas said, as he sped off towards the fleeing Ankoku.

Roxas realized that despite his enhanced speed he wouldn't be able to catch Ankoku, who had a massive lead. He slowed up and hovered over the water. He whipped his Keyblade out and took aim, before flinging his blade with all his might. The Keybade whizzed through the air, spinning at an astounding speed towards Ankoku. Ankoku was so focused on getting to the portal that he failed to see the weapon until it was far too late. The blade caught him on his already injured left shoulder, and rebounded off him. The agony gripped at Ankoku's shoulder as he stopped and felt the gaping wound, which was now gushing blackish-purple fluid. He turned around, and as he did two piercing gashes cut across his chest. His eyes bulged out of his sockets, and his mouth stood agape, but no sound came out. What he didn't know is that as Roxas threw the blade, he flew right behind and as the weapon deflected off of Ankoku he caught it and unleashed two diagonal slashes across the chest. As Ankoku looked down to the gushing geyser that was on his chest, Sora came speeding up and caught him with an energy blast directly into Ankoku's face. Ankoku screamed in agony, as the energy seemed to burn his flesh. Sora and Roxas stood back, still in the fighting stance, not letting their guard down for a second. Ankoku was a mess, and was fading fast. The water below him, which was grey and murky, started to turn black from the ooze; and Ankoku slowly started to sink into the water, struggling to maintain his breath. His shocked eyes never left Sora and Roxas even as his head sank under the waves, and disappeared from their line of sight into the black abyss. The two warriors looked at each other and slowly lowered their weapons. They immediately raced back to the fallen Yamato, to see if he was still alive. The two crouched down next to him, and Sora took Yamato's hand to check for a pulse. He looked up at Roxas with a concerned look.

"Is...is...he...dead?" Roxas reluctantly asked.

Sora shook his head.

"He's alive, but barely." Sora said as he got up to his feet.

Sora looked down at Yamato and held his hand out. He closed his eyes and a white aura passed from Sora and encompassed Yamato's unmoving body. Sora opened his eyes once the Curaga spell was complete, and waited for any sign that it had an effect. The seconds turned to minutes, but there was no change in Yamato. He was alive, but he needed greater medical attention then what Sora could provide.

"Roxas, let's get him up and through the portal." Sora said to his partner. "We need to get him to a doctor."

Roxas nodded in agreement. The two warriors gently picked up Yamato and each draped an arm around their shoulders. They started to make their way out towards the portal home, when all of a sudden there was a massive geyser out in the middle of the water. Sora immediately motioned to Roxas to set Yamato down and prepare for battle. The waters continued to bubble as a massive sea monster rose from the depths. The monster was human in appearance, but with definite aquatic features. It had a long set of spikes down the back it's midnight black body, and its head was similar to that of a shark. Sharp, yellowing teeth could be seen when the monster let out a roar. It had two long arms, with five long slender fingers on each hand. The nails on the hand were like their own individual scythe. The biggest feature that allowed Roxas and Sora to identify the creature was the scar on it's face, as well as the human side of it resembling Ankoku. Ankoku looked down at his new body, and then spotted his adversaries on the bank of the water. His dagger teeth curled up into a malicious grin and he let out a loud roar. Sora and Roxas were still ready with their blades, but the roar made them a little uneasy. They had little time to ponder anything however, because Ankoku was immediately on the attack. Ankoku held his massive arms out, and held his hands, allowing them to hover barely over the water. The duo watched as huge cyclones of water formed and started moving towards the shoreline. Sora looked over at Roxas with urgency.

"Get Yamato out of harm's way!" He ordered.

Roxas nodded, and grabbed the limp Yamato and flew off. Sora meanwhile pressed forward, dodging the countless cyclones that were slamming into the shore. Sora weaved around, inching closer and closer to the monstrous visage that was now Ankoku. He finally approached his left arm, and prepared to give him a hard strike, however his blade couldn't seem to make contact. He tried again and again, but the same result happened. He slowly realized that Ankoku had a shield and it was much stronger than the one that he had applied in their earlier battle.

"Not good!" Sora said to himself as he glanced up at Ankoku.

Sora quickly dodged, and just missed Ankoku's blade like fingernails slicing him in two. However, the nails did catch his calf, causing a cut that quickly began to bleed. He winced in pain, and grabbed at the wound and cast a quick Curaga spell to heal it. This momentary distraction, however, left Sora open to an vicious back hand from Ankoku's other hand. The force of the blow sent Sora sprawling back to the shore, and crash-landing on the beach.

"Ow." was the only word that Sora could muster as he hovered back to a standing position.

He glance out over the water, and saw Ankoku moving closer, his eyes flashing wildly. Ankoku was just off shore, deep enough that he didn't have to leave the water, but close enough that he could still reach the shore with his arms. He then proceeded to slam his arms down into the shore, creating a shock wave that sent Sora back a bit, but didn't cause him to lose his balance.. Sora looked up and saw that Ankoku still had his hands embedded in the sand. There was a blackish-purple glow that surrounded his hands, and Sora gasped as he started to see at least a few hundred Sora clones emerge from the ground. Sora readied his blade to greet the oncoming enemies, when he noticed Roxas slide up alongside him.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Roxas said, noticing the wounds on Sora, from his sprawl on the beach, and the massive clone army heading their way.

"He's stronger then before, and there seems to be some sort of field around him that my blade can't penetrate." Sora responded, still gazing at the army that continued to grow.

"Did you get Yamato to safety?" Sora asked.

Roxas nodded.

"Yes he's over there in the woods." Roxas said, tilting his head off in the direction of the trees.

Sora glanced over and saw where he was looking at, and saw the large trees in the distance. An idea crept into his head.

"I have a plan, but we need to thin out some of these clones." Sora started. "Take the left side, and I will work the right. We will meet up at his face." Sora said, as he took off.

Roxas nodded, as if he knew what Sora was planning, and took off in the opposite direction. The two warriors, interweaved between attacking the clones and evading the blasts of dark energy that Ankoku now was launching at them. Fortunately for Sora and Roxas, while Ankoku's enhanced form allowed him to create more clones, they were still the same strength as the ones before, making it a little bit easier for them to manage. They worked their way closer and closer to Ankoku, who increased the amount of blasts to try and knock them out of the sky. The two continued upwards, making their way almost up to Ankoku's head. Ankoku roared and tried to smash the two warriors with his hands, but they were too quick for the attack. The two drew their blades, causing Ankoku to laugh sinisterly, knowing that his shield would protect him. However, rather than using their blades to attack him the two met right in front of his face, and smashed their blades together. The contact of the blades caused a blinding flash, causing Ankoku to cry out in pain. He roared and rubbed his eyes furiously. Sora looked over at Roxas.

"Come on!" Sora shouted as he sped off back towards the tree line.

Roxas didn't know what Sora had planned this time, but he quickly followed in pursuit while Ankoku was briefly stunned. The duo landed next to a rather large tree, which Sora seemed to be measuring up carefully. Roxas looked on puzzled.

"Sora! What are you doing?" He finally asked.

"Roxas, I need you to fly up above this tree, and ready your Keyblade!" Sora commanded.

Roxas shrugged. He flew up to where Sora had instructed him to, and readied his blade. Sora took his Keyblade and with one astounding stroke sliced the tree, separating it from it's base. He then in a split matter of seconds, swung his blade in a upward motion, and in a feat of strength pushed the tree up into the air. Roxas was stunned as the tree suddenly appeared at his eye level. Sora looked up and noticed that Roxas wasn't doing anything.

"ROXAS! HIT IT TOWARDS HIM!" Sora barked out, snapping Roxas of his momentary shock.

Roxas leaned back and unleashed a full swing with the broadside of his Keyblade, so as to not cut the tree. The tree rocketed off his blade towards the blinded behemoth. The tree managed to strike Ankoku right between the eyes, his shield flickering from the attack, and Ankoku seemed to recoil from the shot. Roxas and Sora grinned at each other and continued to fire trees at Ankoku. Three more trees were sent and hit Ankoku before finally the shield that protected him fizzled out. Sora and Roxas took that as their cue to strike. They flew at Ankoku with their blades drawn, and unleashed a series of attacks on Ankoku's chest, which despite his size, they theorized was still wounded from their assault on it earlier. The monster screamed in agony as they cut into his body with their blades. Finally Ankoku's sight came back and he swatted away at the two of them, like one would with a pair of mosquitoes. Ankoku flailed away but he couldn't seem to take down either Roxas or Sora. The pair continued to assault Ankoku with a well timed hit and run strategy, landing strikes all over his body. Ankoku screamed in anguish and continued to thrash away, desperately trying to stop the onslaught. He focused in and was finally able to get a strong smash in on Roxas, which sent Roxas flying backwards. However, Roxas was able to astoundingly recover in mid air, and launch himself back at Ankoku, taking a large cut out of Ankoku's previously injured shoulder. The pain gripped Ankoku, and he rocked with anguish. A follow up series of strikes from the duo, caused further pain, and slowly Ankoku realized that despite his early advantage, he couldn't last even in his ultimate form. Despite the fact that he was in his own dimension, where his power was at its peak; he was no match against the jacked up Sora and Roxas. He had to think of a plan and he had to think of it fast. Sora and Roxas had backed off slightly, giving a moment's breath to Ankoku.

"I'm not going to beat them in hand to hand combat." Ankoku said to himself. "So it's time for something different." He concluded.

Sora and Roxas, seemingly had devised their own method of attack, and set to work on executing it. They weaved in and out of each other, picking up speed; seemingly going for one great last final assault to finish off their nemesis once and for all. They drew their blades, as Ankoku held out his massive hands. Ankoku closed his eyes and a dark glow formed. Roxas and Sora got closer and closer, and right before they were ready to strike, Ankoku suddenly opened his eyes and a black smoke covered him, blocking him from view. Sora and Roxas searched, but were unable to find Ankoku. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. Suddenly, they felt two things attach to their bodies and neither one of them could move their arms or legs. They struggled but to no avail.

"R...ROXAS..I CAN'T MOVE!" Sora shouted out.

"ME NEITHER" Roxas called back.

A loud crack was heard, and the two warriors went flying before they crash-landed into the beach on their backs, still unable to move their appendages. As the smoke cleared, they could see two blobs of blackish purple ooze, that were preventing them from using their limbs. As they struggled to break free, they were brought back to attention by a maniacal laugh, as Ankoku, no longer in his gigantic form, slowly appeared into view. His face was weathered, his clothes tattered, and his body showed wounds from the previous battles. His chest was a mess, as he was using a similar looking blob that was attached to Sora and Roxas to stop more ooze from leaving his body. His shoulder was mangled, and it seemed to be unusable. Still a sinister smile was on his face, because he finally had the two right where he wanted them.

"What's the matter? Can't move?" Ankoku sneered. "Pity" He said he touched down close to where the two were still stuck.

"You know, I must admit some surprise." He began. "I didn't expect the fight that you put up, and in this form you two might even be a match for me in this realm." He stated, causally walking around his downed opponents.

"But...that ends now." Ankoku said, his once wild eyes now shifted into an empty black.

"You see...I know where you are getting this power, and it's the connection that you have to that wretched princess." Ankoku explained as he motioned over to the door to light.

"I was shocked when this door showed up." He began. "I couldn't quite figure out why it appeared." He continued.

"When your foolish actions brought me here I searched all over for some type of portal back to the realm of light. Even when I was toying with you I was still searching." He explained.

"I did notice that ever since you two went on your little journey, that strange things were happening in this realm, and I deduced that it had something to do with you! You were the key to getting back to the worlds! All I had to do was bide my time." He continued, as Roxas and Sora tried to get free.

"I wanted so badly to get back and get revenge on the worlds for what they did to me..." He stated, his voice starting to quiver with anger. "So! You can imagine my elation when the door appeared to me!" He said.

"But still, I wondered why it showed up..." He stated.

"However, after seeing all the changes occurring around here, seeing my deception fade away, and your substantial power increase, I put it all together." He stated with a hint of triumph. "Somehow that girl was connecting to your heart, and that's what gave you all the power that you needed." He finished.

He turned back towards the two paralyzed warriors. He held his arms up. He let out a primal scream and a dark aura formed around him. Sora and Roxas looked around and struggled to get free. The ground began to tremble and the trees began to violently shake. A maniacal laugh emanated from Ankoku.

"What are you doing!" Sora yelled, struggling to get free.

Ankoku whirled around and got right in the face of Sora. He grabbed his cheeks and pulled his face up close.

"I'm using my powers...to destroy this realm...with you in it." He said coldly. "And I'm going to get back into the realm of light." He continued leaning closer into Sora's face.

"With you out of the way...no one can stop me." He sneered. "I am going to demolish every single world, everything you ever cared about I will wipe out." He said with a sinister grin.

"And I will take special pleasure in visiting that little girlfriend of yours...to personally thank her for setting me free." He said, with an evil laugh.

Sora was enraged at the thought of harm coming to Kairi, but he couldn't do anything with his blade. With his arms and legs out of commission, he spat at Ankoku, catching him right below his eye. The smile faded from Ankoku's face.

"Why you...little" He said, as he slammed Sora's head back down into the ground, and kicked Sora hard in the ribs.

Sora cried out in pain, and Ankoku sneered looking at the damage he had caused. Roxas turned his head and saw his friend in pain.

"Hey! Let us go and fight us like a man!" Roxas called out to Ankoku.

Ankoku looked at Roxas with scorn. A loud crack of Ankoku's fist meeting Roxas's face echoed as the world continued to crumble around them. Roxas winced in pain at the blow.

"Don't speak to me...you filthy nobody." Ankoku jeered.

He swung his hands up and Sora and Roxas raised in the air. Ankoku was expending a ton of energy between creating the blobs that had Sora and Roxas contained, as well as self destructing this realm, so there was little else that he could do. However, he ego wouldn't let him get back to the realm of light with out getting a last few licks in on Sora and Roxas. He raised them up as high in the air as he could before bringing them down hard, slamming them into the ground. He laughed as he repeated the attack over and over, as the trees started to fall around them from the realm's collapse. Ankoku released them from the attack, and brought them up to his eye level. Across Sora's shoulder he could see the door to light starting to flicker around the collapsing realm, which told him that he needed to finish this, and make haste to the portal. He looked into the faces of his adversaries. Sora and Roxas were roughed up, but their powers had very quick healing properties. Still, as long as they couldn't move, he was in no danger. He grabbed them by the throat, and pulled them closer to his face.

"I am saddened by the fact that I will not get the pleasure of watching you die." He coldly stated.

"I will however, take some measure of satisfaction in destroying everything you hold dear." He continued, the world continued to deteriorate around them.

"But I will be fair." He said, smiling that sick smile that caused both of them to know he was lying. "Everyone you love will have a choice." He began.

"They can either bow before me or I will kill them." He sneered, as he noticed the anger growing on Sora's face.

"Although...in the girl's case...I may just kill her anyway!" He laughed maniacally in Sora's face.

That image infuriated Sora to no end. He struggled even more, harder and harder desperately trying to break free and attack Ankoku. He continued to think of it more and more, further becoming more and more incensed. Ankoku at first was amused, but once he felt his grip around Sora's throat starting to loosen, it wasn't as funny to him anymore. He looked down and saw that the blobs had turned hard and were starting to crack.

"STOP!" He screamed as he continued to fight Sora's resistance, tightening his grip, attempting to choke the life out of Sora.

It was starting to become too much for him, and his grip slowly faded away, until suddenly Sora broke free of the blobs. Sora kicked Ankoku right in the gut, doubling him over and dropping both Sora and Roxas. Ankoku was stunned, and that momentarily lapse allowed Sora to call forth his blade and cut Ankoku in the abdomen.

"ARRGH" Ankoku cried out in pain, and fell to his knees.

Sora used his blade to cut Roxas out of his ooze, before continuing his vicious attack. Sora was using the images that Ankoku put in his mind as fuel to add to the fire that raged inside of him. Ankoku was constantly on the defensive, not quite sure how to fight back. Roxas meanwhile was trying to convince Sora to let it go, especially since he saw that the door to light was starting to fade.

"Come on Sora, we need to get Yamato and go!" Roxas pleaded.

Sora would here none of it. He continued his assault. Ankoku was down and solely on the defensive. Sora meanwhile was now slugging Ankoku with the hilt of his Keyblade, causing more ooze to drip out of his face. Roxas tried to pull him off, but Sora pushed him out of the way and continued his assault. Ankoku was fading in and out of unconsciousness, and his face was starting to puff up from the shots it was taking. This didn't faze Sora in the slightest, and he continued to bludgeon Ankoku, taking his rage out on him. Roxas continued to try and pull Sora off, but to no avail. The rage continued to build in Sora, to the point that he almost seemed to be possessed. A beast had taken over Sora it seemed.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Sora roared, now using his fists to further do damage, before once again grabbing his Keyblade.

Ankoku was out, and not moving; but Sora didn't care. Sora brought his blade up ready for the finishing strike. He was going to end him, and get revenge for everything that he had done to him and his friends, when a hand grabbed him and yanked him off. Sora turned to strike, believing it to be Roxas, but he was stunned to see Yamato staring back at him. He was in pain still from the earlier battle with Ankoku, but he still had enough strength to get Sora off. The raging fire inside of Sora seemed to temper off.

"Don't give into the darkness Sora." Yamato warned in a gravely voice. "Don't sink to his level."

Yamato motioned over to the fading door, as the ground continued to shake around them.

"The door is going to close, you need to get to it." He stated firmly.

Sora looked over at the door closing, as the flames in his heart and the anger both subsided.

"Come on guys we need to go!" Roxas called out from closer to the shoreline.

Sora grabbed Yamato and started towards the shore. They got about halfway to where Roxas was, when a huge rumble knocked them all down and a large gash in the earth started to form behind them. As they got back to their feet, and continued towards the water's edge they heard a loud yell from behind them.

"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!" Ankoku bellowed.

He raised his arms and some of the fallen trees raised off the ground.

"I WILL TAKE ALL OF YOU TO HELL WITH ME!" He roared as he used his telekinetic powers to fire the trees at them.

They were able to get out of the way of the initial attack, but Ankoku was advancing, and transforming into his larger entity. Sora and Roxas stood ready to attack him, Yamato however noticed that the portal was flickering even more now. He jumped in front of his younger friends, and drew his Keyblade. He looked over his shoulder at his compatriots.

"Sora...Roxas...you need to go to the portal now." Yamato said, his voice weathered from age and battle. "I will fight him."

Sora and Roxas looked at him in astonishment.

"No! We are not going to leave you behind!" Sora screamed.

"Yeah you have to come back with us!" Roxas pleaded.

Yamato shook his head.

"You two have lives back home, loved ones to see." He stated, not taking his eyes off the growing Ankoku. "My world is gone, my beloved is gone...all because of my selfish actions." He said sadly.

"I can never atone for destroying my world, but I can give the rest of the worlds their Keyblade master back!" Yamato said with great determination.

Sora looked ready to protest, but Roxas's hand on his shoulder took his attention away from Yamato. Sora looked at Roxas, with a pleading look, almost begging Roxas to help him convince Yamato to come with them. However, the look that Roxas gave Sora told him exactly what his friend thought. Sora turned back to Yamato, tears forming in his eyes.

"I will find a way to get you out of here!" Sora stated with quivering resolve. "So while this is goodbye, it is only for now!" He said, as he put his hand on Yamato's shoulder.

Roxas stood there silent. "Until we meet again." He quietly said, while putting his hand on Yamato's other shoulder.

Yamato smiled.

"Well then...goodbye for now..." He said, his aged eyes starting to mist.

A roar from Ankoku, followed by another ground tremor, brought them all back to the task at hand.

"GO!" Yamato commanded.

Sora and Roxas sped off towards the door to light. Ankoku saw this and roared out in desperation. He started to lumber towards them as quickly as possible. Yamato looked on the ground, and found the large gash that had formed from the earlier tremor. He raised his blade up and using whatever powers his Keyblade still had in it, slammed it down into the ground. The power from the thrust caused the ground to shake and then rupture, causing a massive sinkhole, taking both Ankoku and Yamato down with it. Ankoku tried to hang on and claw his way out, but Yamato slammed his Keyblade in Ankoku's back, causing him to lose his grip. Ankoku roared as he toppled down into the abyss. Yamato, had meanwhile used the last of his strength and a boost from Ankoku's body to leap back to the ledge and pull himself out. He gazed out over the water and saw Sora and Roxas speeding off towards the portal. He smiled as he saw the two of them finally make it and cross through to the realm of light. The wizened Keyblade master took a look around at the realm that was violently shaking. He slowly made his way to the water's edge, and stared out across the sea. He could see the portal flashing and growing dim. Yamato closed his eyes and tried to cancel out the noise of the realm collapsing around him. As the noise seemed to die down around him, he felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. There was a warmth in his heart that he recognized immediately. An image of his late wife flashed before him. He opened his eyes, and smiled out at the portal.

"Miyu...I'll see you soon...my love..." He said as the flickering portal finally disappeared, and everything around him went dark.

**End of Chapter 14**

_And there it is! Chapter 14 is in the books! Hopefully that was a fitting enough chapter to warrant a two year wait! Thanks to all of you who waited patiently, and most importantly didn't forget about this story. There will be a short chapter next, and then...the final chapter on the 2nd installment! I hope to have both done by the end of the month, and that will allow me to storyboard for the final installment of this story!_

_Thanks Again Everyone!_


	16. Home

_Hello Again! Well I said it would be a short chapter, and it turns out I am a liar! That somehow managed to turn into a bit longer of a chapter than I had anticipated. Still! I'm more happy that I seem to be back on a writing schedule again, hopefully that will help the quality of my writing. Anyways! I hope that you all enjoy this chapter! And remember, if it's not an original character it's owned by Square-Enix or Disney. _

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter 15: Home**

SPLASH!

The loud crash of waves broke the silence of the warm summer evening. Sora felt the warmth of the ocean, for the first time in months, and for a moment contemplated staying underneath the waves permanently. Eventually the need for air forced Sora to the surface. With a gasp he broke through the waves, and once the water left his eyes, he was greeted by a familiar sight. He was just off the coast of his old island stomping ground, and off in the distance he could see his home city. He smiled, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, a sense of peace washed over him. Roxas had finally floated down to where Sora was and took in the same sights. The sight of his home, brought him some happiness, but the fact that he was no longer whole definitely disheartened him.

Sora looked up at Roxas with a grin, and then began swimming as hard as he could towards the shore. Roxas, floated aimlessly, but eventually followed his friend. Sora raced up the sandy beach and fell to the ground. Exuberance took hold of him and he rolled on his back, and started making snow angels in the sand. He tried to stand up, but lost his balance and went back to the turf. It didn't matter to Sora however, and he laughed at his clumsiness. He grabbed a handful of sand and threw it in the air, getting his hair dirty, but he could have cared less; he was just so thrilled that he was home. The smell of the salty sea, the squawking of seagulls, the warm feel of the slowly setting sun on his exposed skin; all of these sensations he had experienced countless times before, were now suddenly brand new to him. Grinning, he stood up and shook the sand off of him. He turned around to see Roxas, and was surprised to see his friend not sharing his enthusiasm to be back.

"Roxas…what's wrong?" Sora asked his friend. "Aren't you happy that we are home?"

Roxas looked over with sad eyes to Sora, who was taken aback by this.

"I'm happy to be back...but..." Roxas trailed off as he looked down at his body, which Sora for the first time fully realized was back to its familiar apparition state.

"Aw man…I'm sorry buddy..." Sora said, understanding where his friend was coming from. "But hey...look on the bright side!" Sora suddenly said, his eyes lighting up.

"You were whole once right?" He asked.

Roxas nodded slowly.

"Well...maybe you can be whole again!" Sora exclaimed. "I mean…something had to give you that ability, so whose to say that we can't find out what it is, and make it happen?" He finished.

Roxas looked at Sora, somewhat surprised.

"We?" He asked.

Sora laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Well yeah!" He said. "Who else is going to help you?" He asked.

Roxas smiled at this.

"Thanks, Sora." He grinned at his friend.

"No problem!" Sora said cheerfully. "Now…why don't we go home?" He said, gesturing off in the distance.

Roxas nodded, and the two made their way across the beach. As they walked they talked and laughed amongst each other. It felt so good to finally laugh. The past few months had been horrible. Being separated from the their loved ones was the most difficult thing that they had ever done. The duo continued to make their way towards the bridge that connected the island to the mainland, but a glimpse of a stone monolith caught their attention. As they approached the stone statue, they were stunned to see that it was a memorial to Sora. The two gazed at the monument, not really sure what to say to it. They looked down and saw some flowers, that were still fresh. He bent down and looked at the bouquet, and saw a card next to it. Sora picked up the card and read it.

_Sora Hakiri…Gone but not Forgotten…_

Sora looked at the words on the card. He recognized them, but was still puzzled by what they spelled out.

"Roxas….how long were we gone again?" He asked his friend, setting the card back down.

Roxas rubbed his chin.

"Well…we were in there for about 2 and a half months…" He began, counting on his fingers. "However, since time moves faster out here than it does in the dark realm…who knows?" Roxas shrugged his shoulders.

Sora and Roxas pulled themselves away from the monument and continued their trek into town, albeit still shaken from the realization that they've been gone for a while. As they approached the town, they were slightly reluctant to see it, fearing it would have changed. To their surprise, the town looked to be in the same shape that they had left it in, which was a relief to both of them. As they entered the center of town, they were surprised to see that there was no activity going on, which was very unusual. There were no signs of any people, all the businesses seemed to be closed, and all the houses were dark.

"That's odd…" Sora said to himself.

The two continued to walk down the narrow dusty streets, towards Sora's home, a sense of uneasiness growing as every house they passed had no lights on. Eventually they approached their house, but as was the case with every other house, they found the door locked, and the lights out.

"Did…did something happen while we were away?" Roxas asked, growing increasingly worried.

Sora shared the concern.

"I think we need to go check on Kairi…" He said, as he quickly turned around and headed for her house.

The pair raced through the streets towards Kairi's house. They grew more and more worried with every passing house. Finally they could see Kairi's house in this distance. They were relieved to finally to see some lights on in the Uchida household. As they approached the house, the lights suddenly went out. The two stopped as they heard a pair of voices talking frantically from inside the house. Sora pulled out his Keyblade, half expecting enemies to pop out. To their surprise, the door to the house swung open and they could make out two figures emerging from the house. One was an older woman with dirty blonde hair, that was done up in a lovely do. Her dress was a full length purple gown, and she matched with silver earrings and a silver bracelet. Sora and Roxas immediately recognized her as Anne Uchida, Kairi's mom. The other younger woman, with blonde hair floated alongside her. She wore a white, one shouldered, sequined cocktail dress; and paired with white gold and sapphire earrings. Roxas smiled when he saw her; as it had been a while since he had seen his girlfriend.

"I can't believe that you are going to make us late Naminé!" Anne said, seemingly anxious.

"Come on, now…we won't be that late." The apparition responded, as Anne closed the door behind them.

"Do we have a ride to the ball?" Anne asked.

"Yes…the king was nice enough to leave several gummy ships for the town, and some private ones for us…" Naminé responded.

"And we are already running late!" Anne cried impatiently. "Kairi, Riku, and the others have already left…and by the time we get there it will be over…" Anne said.

Naminé sighed. The two started to make their way over to where the gummy ships were being kept. The two had only gotten a few feet from the front door when Anne noticed a figure standing there, half covered by shadow. She gasped, and held back. Naminé turned and looked where Anne was looking, and saw the figure for herself.

"Who's there?!" Anne called out, demanding to know.

The figure stepped a little bit closer, and came into her view. Anne saw the outline of the figure and noticed a Keyblade and shaggy hair. Anne and Namine's mouths stood agape, and they both turned almost white as if they had seen a ghost.

"S..Sora…? Is that you?" Anne asked, still not sure if she could believe his eyes.

"You know it!" Sora said with a goofy grin.

The girls stood there, stunned.

"I can't believe you are home!" Naminé said, finally breaking the silence.

"I'm home too by the way!" A voice called out.

Naminé was briefly surprised, but upon recognizing the voice, a great joy leaped from the bowels of her heart. It rose even higher as the other figure came into view.

"ROXAS!" Naminé screamed as she rushed up to her long lost boyfriend.

She hugged Roxas amidst tears, as Sora looked on smiling.

"Oh god…I missed you so much…." Naminé said in between sobs.

Roxas hugged her tight, and smiled.

"I missed you too." He said softly, as he lifted her chin giving her a soft kiss.

Anne was still stunned by the events transpiring before her. But seeing Roxas and Naminé together brought a warm smile to her face.

"I'm so happy that the two of you are back!" Anne exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "The others will be so happy as well!"

Sora nodded, but looked around confused.

"Speaking of that…where is everyone?" Sora asked.

"And what was this ball you were talking about?" Roxas added.

Naminé pulled herself off Roxas for a second, remembering something.

"Oh! The ball!" She exclaimed.

Sora looked at Naminé with a puzzled expression.

"The King and Queen are throwing a Silver Celestial Ball, to promote the worlds unity." Anne informed them. "The whole town was invited, and as you can see…everyone decided to attend." She continued, motioning to the empty houses around them.

"Kairi, Riku, and the others already went earlier." Naminé explained.

Anne shook her head. "We would have to, had someone not taking forever deciding on what to wear…" Anne said, somewhat glaring at Naminé.

"You guys have to come!" Naminé chimed in, ignoring Anne.

"Absolutely!" Sora grinned.

The one thing that pushed him, throughout the whole ordeal, was the drive to see his friends again; to see Kairi again.

"Well, there is one problem…" Anne said, breaking everyone's concentration. "It's formal attire…and all the suit shops are closed by now…"

Sora looked down…before perking up.

"I know where I can get a suit!" He exclaimed. "We can go see Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather." Sora explained. "They live in Twilight Town at Master Yen Sid's place…and if we are lucky we can still catch them!" He finished.

The girls nodded, agreeing to the plan. Sora smiled. "Alright! Let's get going!" He said as the four walked off towards the gummi ship, Naminé not letting go of Roxas.

Sora laughed, but something still puzzled him.

"Say Naminé…" He began. "Kairi….uh…she isn't…uh…you know…um" Sora struggled to finish his thought.

"Seeing somebody?" Roxas asked, attempting to finish his friend's thought.

Naminé and Anne looked at each other and laughed.

"No." They both said in unison.

Sora nodded, content with his answer. The other three rolled their eyes and stifled laughter as best they could. They made their way to the ship, and quickly boarded. Sora took the pilot's chair and set the navigation course to Twilight Town, and they were off. Along the way they recounted to Anne and Naminé the tales of their journey. Several times the girls simply had to pinch themselves, still unsure that they weren't dreaming. Sora looked over at Naminé, and another puzzling thing came to his mind.

"Hey Naminé…" Sora started. "I have to ask…how did you get that dress?" He finished.

"Oh!" Naminé said, looking down at her outfit. "Roxas got it for me a while ago, it's just the first time that I was able to wear it!" She explained.

Sora just looked at her with a blank expression. He shook his head and turned back around towards the window, to make sure they were flying smoothly. Roxas and Naminé shared a look and snickered to each other. Within an hour they arrived at Master Yen Sid's, and the foursome got out of the ship.

"Wait here!" Sora said, as he raced into the house and up the stairs.

He climbed the massive winding stair case, and opened the door to Master Yen Sid's chambers. The room was dark, and Yen Sid was nowhere to be found. Sora's heart sank, as he thought about his diminishing chances to get that suit. He glanced over at the door that lead to the fairies chamber, and was relieved to see a faint glow of light emanating from the room. He approached the door, and gave a knock. He heard some hushed voices and the light faded in the room. He knocked again, but no one bothered to answer the door. Sora cracked open the door, and peered in.

"Hello?" He called out.

The room was dark, and he couldn't make out much.

"Flora?, Fauna?, Merryweather?" Sora called out in the dark.

He heard some stirring from the left corner of the room, but no answer was given.

Sora sighed, and took out his Keyblade, and held it upwards. Sora felt a rush of power come through him, as he unleashed a fire spell on the chandelier that hung from the ceiling. The fire exploded upon impact and in the process lit all the candles, illuminating the room. Off to the corner, he noticed the three fairies, huddled in a corner, with their wands drawn and pointed at Sora. They were shaking, and they stared at Sora as if he was an apparition.

"S…Stay back ghost!" Flora, the red fairy, stammered out.

"Ghost? I'm not a ghost…" Sora said, slowly approaching the trio. "It's me…Sora!"

The three fairies remained unconvinced, and refused to lower their wands.

"Sora died!" Merryweather, the blue fairy, blurted out.

Sora looked at them curiously. "Is that what everyone thinks…that I'm dead?" He asked, as he called back his Keyblade.

"No…Sora is dead…" Fauna, the green fairy, corrected him.

"But I am Sora! And I really need a suit for the ball tonight!" Sora exclaimed. "What do I have to do to prove that I'm Sora?" Sora asked.

The three fairies conversed amongst each other. They would periodically look back at Sora, but still continued to discuss their plan amongst themselves. Finally, after a little bit, the fairies parted and pointed their wands at Sora.

"We have a way to prove who you are." Flora stated. "Please call forth your Keyblade."

Sora shrugged his shoulders, and called forth his Oathkeeper Keyblade.

"Please hold it out for us." Fauna asked.

Sora obliged, and the fairies shot a combined blast of their magic at the Keyblade. The Keyblade absorbed the magic, and seemed to pulse with energy. Suddenly a blast of white light emerged from the Keyblade and enveloped Sora. Sora held his hand up to his face, to block the blinding flash from his eyes. He felt a warmth all over his body as the light bathed over him. When the light finally subsided and Sora opened his eyes, he found the three fairies smiling at him.

"Welcome back Sora!" Merryweather said, with glee.

'Thanks…" Sora said, as he called back his blade.

He felt a little strange, and when he looked down he found out why. No longer was his worn, torn, battle garb on his body; but in it's place was a sharp, light grey suit. Sora was stunned, and quickly scampered to the nearby mirror to check out his new ensemble. The jacket and matching pants were a nice light grey, in a very mute glen check pattern. The shirt was a solid white button up. The tie was an interesting choice. It was a violet tie, solid, and it gave off a distinct summer feel. A black belt and black shoes completed the outfit, and Sora was very happy with it. He noticed too that he smelled nicer, like he had finally taken a shower for the first time in a while. He noticed a hint of citrus and wood as well.

"Am…am I wearing cologne?" He asked, stunned.

"Yes dear…" Flora began, before her sister cut us off.

"We could smell you from across the room!" Merryweather blurted out again, drawing a glare from her elder sister.

"We hope that we didn't cross our bounds…" Fauna said, a little hesitantly.

"No! It's great!" Sora grinned. "I love it!" He said as he turned to the three fairies. "How did you do it?" He asked.

"Well dear…we decided to use a spell of ours that can dispel darkness." Flora started. "While it's not powerful enough to deal with someone like Maleficent, it can handle most minor heartless." She continued. "However, this time we added a twist to it!"

"We changed it so that if you were who you said you were, it would not only produce a suit for you, but clean you as well!" Merryweather chimed in, in effect finishing her sister's explanation.

"Well…thanks!" Sora said, still admiring himself in the mirror, while secretly thinking about what Kairi would say when she saw him.

"We are glad you like it dear, but don't you think you should hurry to the castle?" Fauna stated, breaking his concentration.

"Oh jeez! That's right!" Sora exclaimed.

Sora thanked them and quickly made his way back from whence he came. The fairies chuckled amongst themselves as they watched him race off.

"I knew it was him the whole time!" Merryweather declared.

"We all did." Flora said slyly. "The only reason it took so long was because we couldn't decided on the color of his clothes."

"I still think it should have been blue…" Merryweather mumbled.

"Now, now…" Fauna started. "We chose that outfit for a reason." She said smiling up at Flora.

Flora smiled and nodded. "Well…we had to make him match his dance partner didn't we?" She laughed lightly to herself.

The fairies continued to laugh as they closed up shop, and then vanished in a puff of smoke.

Sora made his way down the spiral staircase, and out the front door of the castle. He walked over to where the ship was. He noticed Naminé and Anne were outside the ship chatting, but Roxas was nowhere to be seen. The girls noticed Sora and his new suit and smiled.

"Wow! Looking sharp Sora!" Naminé said.

"I would say he's definitely dressed to impress someone…" Anne said with a wink.

Sora blushed, and turned away, waiting for the color in his cheeks to go down.

"Thanks…" Sora replied sheepishly. "Where's Roxas?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Right here bud!" Roxas said, as he floated down, from the gummi ship.

Sora looked at him dumbfounded. Roxas was now dressed in a double breasted, solid tan suit. It was complimented by a white button up shirt, with a vertical, thin, charcoal pinstripe. He complimented this with a charcoal tie, a thin, silver tie clip, and a black pair of dress shoes. Roxas grinned at Sora's expression.

"Ok…I know what you're thinking…" Roxas said, raising his hands up, as if Sora caught him in the act. "I make this suit look good!" He smiled again.

Sora just stared at him. "Where did you…how did you…" Sora finally stammered out.

Roxas looked at him quizzically. Suddenly a light bulb went off in his brain. "Ohhhh…you want to know where I got it!" Roxas exclaimed.

Sora merely nodded.

"Ah…well Naminé got it for me a while back!" Roxas said.

Sora's expression didn't change. He just stared at his nobody in astonishment. Roxas merely shrugged and looked at the rest of their party.

"Shall we get a move on?" He asked.

The women nodded, and boarded the ship. Roxas followed, but Sora was still planted where he was, with a bewildered look on his face. Roxas turned to Sora.

"You coming bud?" Roxas asked, as he turned and floated into the ship.

Sora continued to stand there, astounded. He suddenly snapped back to reality.

"HOW THE HELL DO THEY GET THESE CLOTHES!?" Sora roared, piercing the quiet of the night air.

He grumbled his way up the steps, and took his spot at the helm of the ship. Roxas was seated next to Naminé, and saw the expression on Sora's face.

"Something wrong buddy?" He asked with a grin, knowing full well what was wrong, as everyone heard Sora's tantrum outside.

"Nothing…let's go to the ball." Sora mumbled back to his friend.

Roxas looked at Naminé and gave a wink. Naminé tried hard to mouth her giggle. Sora glanced at the two nobodies, who were both trying to maintain their composure. Sora shook his head and sighed. The two burst out laughing, and Sora couldn't help but grin. He fired the ship's engines up, and they were on the way. He turned back to the rest of the party and smiled.

"Next stop: Disney Castle!" He shouted out, as the ship sped off into the night sky.

**End of Chapter 15**

_Well it seems that we are finally going to get to the final chapter of this story! I should hopefully have it up sometime in the next few weeks, definitely before the month ends. I hope that you guys will read and review, and let me know if you have enjoyed or hated the last two chapters. _

_Take Care! _


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